Patent ID: 7319179

Claim:
A method for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane, comprising placing ethane in contact with a catalyst comprising Mo, Te, V, Nb and at least a fifth element A which is selected from the group consisting of Cu, Ta, Sn, Se, W, Ti, Fe, Co, Ni, Cr, Zr, Sb, Bi, an alkali metal, an alkaline-earth metal and a rare earth, and which, in calcined form, presents an X-ray diffractogram with intense diffraction lines corresponding to diffraction angles 2Θ of 7.7°±0.4, 8.90°±0.4, 22.1°±0.4, 26.6°±0.4, 26.9°±0.4, 27.1°±0.4, 28.1°±0.4, 31.2°±0.4, 35.0°±0.4, and 45.06°±0.4.