Maleic anhydride production via 1-butanol selective oxidation: optimization of reaction parameters and the role of byproducts

In recent years, one of the principal challenges for the chemical industry has been the shift from fossil to renewable feedstocks 1–3. In this study, the synthesis of maleic anhydride (MA) from 1-butanol, which can be obtained through fermentation processes, was investigated and compared with the most widely adopted industrial route using butane as the starting material 4,5. Although the catalysts employed in this work have been optimised for the butane-based process, the 1-butanol route demonstrated MA selectivity comparable to those achieved from butane, under the optimized conditions, while a different products distribution was observed. The reactor off-gases were analysed by GC-FID/TCD and GC-MS, and the catalysts were characterised both before and after the reaction cycles by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface‐area determination. These new findings highlight 1-butanol as a very promising renewable raw material for the synthesis of maleic anhydride. Notably, a distinct formation of by-products was observed, differing from those typically produced via n-butane oxidation pathway.