The direct vapour-phase oxidation of benzene to phenol

The homogeneous gas phase oxidation of benzene to phenol with air has been studied with the objective of finding the economically optimum conditions for a commercial process for the production of phenol. The experimental work was carried out in the temperature range of 585°C to 650°C, reaction times of 0.4 to 1.2 seconds, and at a total pressure of one atmosphere. Most of the experiments were carried out in a quartz-lined reactor. It was found that benzene (less than 0.1% impurities) gave lower selectivities for phenol than Analar benzene which contained 0.3% to 0.5% impurities. The effect of a homogeneous promoter (chloroform) on the oxidation reaction was also studied.