Chromium-catalyzed production of alcohols from hydrocarbons

1. A process for converting a hydrocarbon reactant into an alcohol compound and/or a carbonyl compound, the process comprising:

(a)(i) heat treating a supported chromium precursor at a peak temperature from about 50° C. to about 1000° C. to form a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state; or

(a)(ii) contacting a chromium precursor with a solid support while heat treating at a peak temperature from about 50° C. to about 1000° C. to form a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state; or

(a)(iii) heat treating a solid support at a peak temperature from about 50° C. to about 1000° C. and then contacting a chromium precursor with the solid support to form a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state;

(b) irradiating the hydrocarbon reactant and the supported chromium catalyst with a light beam at a wavelength in the UV-visible spectrum to reduce at least a portion of the supported chromium catalyst to form a reduced chromium catalyst; and

(c) hydrolyzing the reduced chromium catalyst to form a reaction product comprising the alcohol compound and/or the carbonyl compound,

wherein the hydrocarbon reactant comprises a C 1 to C 36 linear, branched, or cyclic alkane compound.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the hydrocarbon reactant comprises methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, hexane, or any combination thereof.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the supported chromium catalyst contains from about 0.01 to about 50 wt. % of chromium, based on the weight of the supported chromium catalyst.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the reduced chromium catalyst contains chromium having an average valence of less than or equal to about 5 . 25 .

5. The process of claim 1 , wherein the supported chromium catalyst comprises a solid oxide, a chemically-treated solid oxide, a zeolite, or a combination thereof.

6. The process of claim 1 , wherein the wavelength comprises a single wavelength or a range of wavelengths in a range from about 200 nm to about 750 nm.

7. The process of claim 1 , wherein the irradiating step is conducted at a temperature from about −100° C. to about 100° C.

8. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process comprises:

contacting the hydrocarbon reactant with a fluidized bed of the supported chromium catalyst, and irradiating while contacting; or

contacting the hydrocarbon reactant with a fixed bed of the supported chromium catalyst, and irradiating while contacting.

9. The process of claim 1 , wherein:

hydrolyzing is conducted at a temperature from about 0° C. to about 100° C.; and

hydrolyzing comprises contacting the reduced chromium catalyst with a hydrolysis agent comprising water, steam, an alcohol agent, an acid agent, an alkaline agent, or any combination thereof.

10. The process of claim 1 , wherein:

a conversion of the hydrocarbon reactant is at least about 10 wt. %; and/or

a molar yield of the alcohol compound and/or the carbonyl compound is from about 0.01 to about 2 moles of the alcohol compound and/or the carbonyl compound per mole of chromium (VI) in the supported chromium catalyst.

11. The process of claim 1 , further comprising a step of separating at least a portion of the alcohol compound and/or the carbonyl compound from the reaction product after step (c).

12. The process of claim 1 , further comprising a step of separating at least a portion of the hydrocarbon reactant from the reaction product after step (c), and wherein the at least a portion of the hydrocarbon reactant is recycled and irradiated with the supported chromium catalyst again.

13. The process of claim 1 , further comprising:

separating at least a portion of the reduced chromium catalyst from the reaction product after step (c); and

calcining the at least a portion of the reduced chromium catalyst to regenerate the supported chromium catalyst.

14. The process of claim 1 , wherein the chromium precursor, or the supported chromium precursor, or the supported chromium catalyst, or any combination thereof, comprises potassium chromate, sodium chromate, ammonium chromate, potassium dichromate, sodium dichromate, ammonium dichromate, or any combination thereof.

15. A supported catalyst comprising:

a solid support comprising a solid oxide, a chemically-treated solid oxide, a zeolite, a clay, an activated carbon, or any combination thereof;

from about 0.25 to about 15 wt. % of chromium; and

from about 0.25 to about 15 wt. % of an alkali metal, based on the weight of the catalyst; wherein:

at least one bonding site on the chromium has a ligand characterized by the following formula: —O-Hydrocarbon group;

a molar ratio of the Hydrocarbon group to chromium is in a range from about 0.25:1 to about 2:1; and

the chromium has an average valence of less than or equal to about 5.25.

16. The supported catalyst of claim 15 , wherein solid support is silica, alumina, silica-alumina, silica-coated alumina, or silica-titania.

17. A process for converting a hydrocarbon reactant into an alcohol compound and/or a carbonyl compound, the process comprising:

(a)(i) heat treating a supported chromium precursor at a peak temperature from about 50° C. to about 1000° C. to form a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state; or

(a)(ii) contacting a chromium precursor with a solid support while heat treating at a peak temperature from about 50° C. to about 1000° C. to form a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state; or

(a)(iii) heat treating a solid support at a peak temperature from about 50° C. to about 1000° C. and then contacting a chromium precursor with the solid support to form a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state;

(b) irradiating the hydrocarbon reactant and the supported chromium catalyst with a light beam at a wavelength in the UV-visible spectrum to reduce at least a portion of the supported chromium catalyst to form a reduced chromium catalyst; and

(c) hydrolyzing the reduced chromium catalyst to form a reaction product comprising the alcohol compound and/or the carbonyl compound;

wherein the chromium precursor, or the supported chromium precursor, or the supported chromium catalyst, or any combination thereof, comprises potassium chromate, sodium chromate, ammonium chromate, potassium dichromate, sodium dichromate, ammonium dichromate, or any combination thereof.

18. The process of claim 17 , wherein the process comprises step (a)(i), and the supported chromium precursor comprises potassium chromate, sodium chromate, ammonium chromate, potassium dichromate, sodium dichromate, ammonium dichromate, or any combination thereof.

19. The process of claim 17 , wherein the process comprises step (a)(ii), and the chromium precursor comprises potassium chromate, sodium chromate, ammonium chromate, potassium dichromate, sodium dichromate, ammonium dichromate, or any combination thereof.

20. The process of claim 17 , wherein the process comprises step (a)(iii), and the chromium precursor comprises potassium chromate, sodium chromate, ammonium chromate, potassium dichromate, sodium dichromate, ammonium dichromate, or any combination thereof.

21. The process of claim 17 , wherein the supported chromium catalyst contains from about 0.1 to about 15 wt. % of chromium, based on the weight of the supported chromium catalyst.

22. The process of claim 17 , wherein the process comprises:

contacting the hydrocarbon reactant with a fluidized bed of the supported chromium catalyst, and irradiating while contacting; or

contacting the hydrocarbon reactant with a fixed bed of the supported chromium catalyst, and irradiating while contacting.

23. A process for converting methane into methanol, the process comprising:

(a)(i) heat treating a supported chromium precursor at a peak temperature from about 50° C. to about 1000° C. to form a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state; or

(a)(ii) contacting a chromium precursor with a solid support while heat treating at a peak temperature from about 50° C. to about 1000° C. to form a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state; or

(a)(iii) heat treating a solid support at a peak temperature from about 50° C. to about 1000° C. and then contacting a chromium precursor with the solid support to form a supported chromium catalyst comprising chromium in a hexavalent oxidation state;

(b) irradiating methane and the supported chromium catalyst with a light beam at a wavelength in the UV-visible spectrum to reduce at least a portion of the supported chromium catalyst to form a reduced chromium catalyst; and

(c) hydrolyzing the reduced chromium catalyst to form a reaction product comprising methanol.

24. The process of claim 23 , wherein the supported chromium catalyst comprises a solid oxide.

25. The process of claim 23 , wherein the chromium precursor, or the supported chromium precursor, or the supported chromium catalyst, or any combination thereof, comprises potassium chromate, sodium chromate, ammonium chromate, potassium dichromate, sodium dichromate, ammonium dichromate, or any combination thereof.

26. The process of claim 23 , further comprising a step of separating at least a portion of the methanol from the reaction product after step (c).

27. The process of claim 23 , further comprising a step of separating at least a portion of the methane from the reaction product after step (c), and wherein the at least a portion of the methane is recycled and irradiated with the supported chromium catalyst again.

28. The process of claim 23 , further comprising:

separating at least a portion of the reduced chromium catalyst from the reaction product after step (c); and

calcining the at least a portion of the reduced chromium catalyst to regenerate the supported chromium catalyst.