Direct epoxidation catalyst
View Patent ↗A catalyst comprising a noble metal supported on a diatomaceous earth and a transition metal zeolite is disclosed. The catalyst is used in an epoxidation process comprising reacting an olefin, hydrogen, and oxygen. The diatomaceous earth is readily available and may be used in a slurry process without further particle size enlargement.
1. A catalyst comprising a noble metal supported on a diatomaceous earth and a transition metal zeolite.
2. The catalyst of claim 1 wherein the transition metal zeolite is a titanium zeolite.
3. The catalyst of claim 1 wherein the transition metal zeolite is TS-1.
4. The catalyst of claim 1 wherein the noble metal is selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, iridium, ruthenium, osmium, and mixtures thereof.
5. The catalyst of claim 1 wherein the noble metal is palladium, gold, or a palladium-gold mixture.
6. The catalyst of claim 1 wherein the diatomaceous earth has a mass median diameter from 1 to 200 μm.
7. The catalyst of claim 1 wherein the diatomaceous earth has a mass median diameter from 10 to 100 μm.
8. An epoxidation process comprising reacting an olefin, hydrogen, and oxygen in the presence of the catalyst of claim 1 .
9. The process of claim 8 wherein the transition metal zeolite is a titanium zeolite.
10. The process of claim 8 wherein the transition metal zeolite is TS-1.
11. The process of claim 8 wherein the noble metal is selected from the group consisting of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, iridium, ruthenium, osmium, and mixtures thereof.
12. The process of claim 8 wherein the noble metal is palladium, gold, or a palladium-gold mixture.
13. The process of claim 8 wherein the diatomaceous earth has a mass median diameter from 1 to 200 μm.
14. The process of claim 8 wherein the diatomaceous earth has a mass median diameter from 10 to 100 μm.
15. The process of claim 8 performed in a slurry.
16. The process of claim 8 performed in a fixed bed.
17. The process of claim 8 performed in a continuous mode.
18. The process of claim 8 performed in the presence of a solvent.
19. The process of claim 18 performed in the presence of a buffer.
20. The process of claim 8 wherein the olefin is propylene.