Applied Chemical Engineering

This paper presents a brief history of catalysis, as well as the processes of selective oxidation of hydrocarbons. On the other hand, the basic concepts involved in heterogeneous catalysis are mentioned, emphasizing the role of catalytic materials in chemical oxidation processes and posing a series of guiding questions to be followed when approaching a process catalyzed by solid materials. In the same way, the methods of synthesis of catalysts known in the literature as sol-gel and impregnation are shown, identifying the influence of each stage of preparation with the physical and chemical properties of the materials. Finally, a case study applied to the selective catalytic oxidation of methane and methanol using iron, molybdenum, and vanadium catalytic materials synthesized by the sol-gel method is presented.

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