Two-stage oxidation of methanol on silver and oxide catalysts

The maximum safe concentrations of oxygen have been determined for mixtures containing hydrogen, methanol, formaldehyde, nitrogen, oxygen, and water. It has been shown that introduction of hydrogen into a methanol-air mixture does not affect the rate of oxidation of methanol and formaldehyde on a chrome-iron-molybdenum catalyst and raises the limiting safe concentration of oxygen. The further oxidation of the methanol which remains after conducting the reaction in the presence of a silver catalyst has been studied on iron-molybdenum and chrome-iron-molybdenum oxide catalysts with different grain sizes.