Ways of controlling the selectivity of cyclohexane oxidation

Operation of an industrial installation for cyclohexane oxidation was analyzed, and causes of the low process selectivity (45–52%) were elucidated. The relationships of cyclohexane oxidation under laboratory conditions maximum similar to those of the industrial process were studied. Measures were suggested for optimizing the process so as to increase the yield of the target products by a factor of 1.2–1.6, decrease the amount of cyclohexane spent for the formation of by-products by a factor of 1.2–1.8, and increase the process selectivity to 68%.