The selective gas phase oxidation of o-xylene was investigated inside of the explosion regime using a microstructured reactor. The V2O5/TiO2 catalyst was used as microfixed bed and as catalyst coating. There were no significant losses of the selectivity to phthalic anhydride with feed compositions up to 7 vol % o-xylene observable. Above 7 vol % the selectivity decreased due to total oxidation, especially for the microfixed bed, which was probably caused by a hotspot.
Self-ignition behavior of mixtures of methane and oxygen was investigated in a temperature range from 600 to 800°C. Variations of mixture composition, inert gas content, temperature and filling rate of the ignition autoclave were carried out in order to establish process boundaries for high temperature partial oxidation processes. The tests show that considerably high methane contents are needed to avoid an ignition. Heating-up tests show that ignition is possible at surprisingly low temperatures. This can be attributed to pre-ignition reactions that produce more instable intermediates.