Patent ID: 8901028

Claim:
A process for the partial oxidation of hydrocarbons, comprising contacting a C 1 -C 2 saturated hydrocarbon and hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a molecular sieve catalyst under suitable conditions to convert the saturated C 1 -C 2 hydrocarbon to at least one corresponding C 1 -C 2 partial oxygenate product, wherein the molecular sieve catalyst provides confinement in micropores having an average cross-sectional diameter of less than two nanometers, such cross-sectional diameter being greater than the critical diameter of the C 1 -C 2 saturated hydrocarbon, and the molecular sieve catalyst having a structure containing Brønsted-Lowry acid centers and the molecular sieve catalyst further including at least one coordinatively-unsaturated cation that is not incorporated into the structure of the molecular sieve catalyst, such cation being of a modifying metal or metal oxide species selected from the group consisting of iron (Fe), copper (Cu),-oxides thereof, and combinations thereof, and wherein the molecular sieve catalyst is a zeolite having an MFI structure, a beta structure, or a ferrierite structure, with a SiO 2 /Al 2 O 3 ratio ranging from 20 to 10,000.