Oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde over VSb0.8Ti0.2O4: Effect of the operating conditions

Abstract In the present work, the kinetic toluene oxidation on VSb0.8Ti0.2O4 based catalyst was studied. A reaction network, which involves three steps: the partial oxidation of toluene to benzaldehyde, a consecutive oxidation of benzaldehyde to carbon oxides and a parallel oxidation of toluene to carbon oxides, was proposed. The kinetic parameters were estimated assuming the redox mechanism proposed by Mars and van Krevelen. The products distribution was strongly affected by the reaction temperature. The adjustment of activation energies for total and partial oxidation of toluene led to the same values. The activation energy for the benzaldehyde oxidation was lower than the one for its formation.