| abstract |
Alkanes, particularly propane and isobutane are converted to unsaturated aldehydes, particularly acrolein and methacrolein in an integrated two-step process wherein the alkane is dehydrogenated in a first step to the corresponding olefin, hydrogen, and by-products and the reaction effluent is passed directly into a second step where the olefin is oxidized to the corresponding unsaturated aldehyde without significant oxidation of the hydrogen and by-products. The aldehydes and by-products may be separated and the unreacted olefin and alkane recycled to the first step. Alternatively, the effluent from the second step may be used as feed to a further oxidation step for conversion of the unsaturated aldehyde to the corresponding unsaturated acid. |