Patent ID: 7820854

Claim:
A method for producing an unsaturated carboxylic acid product by the selective partial oxidation of an alkane comprising: i. reacting an alkane with oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas, in the presence of a catalyst to yield a product comprising at least one unsaturated carboxylic acid and a concentration of saturated carboxylic acid; and, ii. lowering the concentration of the saturated carboxylic acid by lowering the partial oxidation reaction selectivity to the saturated carboxylic acid, destroying, converting, or separating at least a portion of the saturated carboxylic acid; wherein the catalyst comprises: (a) a mixed metal oxide comprising the empirical formula AaMbNcXdZeOf wherein A is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Mo and W; M is at least one element selected from the group consisting of V and Ce; N is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Te, Sb and Se; X is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ta, Ti, Al, Zr, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ru, Co, Rh, Ni, Pt, Sb, Bi, B, In, As, Ge, Sn, Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs, Fr, Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra, Hf, Pb, P, Pm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu; and Z is at least one element selected from the group consisting of Zn, Ga, Ir, Sm, Pd, Au, Ag, Cu, Sc, Y, Pr, Nd and Tb; and wherein, when a=1, b=0.01 to 1.0, c=0.01 to 1.0, d=0.01 to 1.0, e=0 to 0.1, and f is dependent on the oxidation state of the other elements; and, (b) an oxidative dehydrogenation catalyst.