Patent ID: 7067103

Claim:
A direct catalytic process for the production of hydrogen peroxide from hydrogen and oxygen feedstreams comprising: maintaining a reactor containing catalyst particles in serially connected catalytic conversion zones of successively decreasing volume under conditions sufficient to convert hydrogen and oxygen to hydrogen peroxide, said zones comprising a first zone receivably connected to receive all of said oxygen feedstream and a portion of the hydrogen feedstream and intermediate or terminal zone(s) receivably connected to receive the remaining portion of the hydrogen feedstream, wherein the ratio of oxygen to hydrogen in the combination of all feedstreams to the reactor is less than the molar ratio of oxygen to hydrogen taken at the inlet into each of the conversion zones; passing all of the oxygen feedstream and a major portion of the hydrogen feedstream into the first conversion zone of the reactor at an inlet molar ratio of oxygen to hydrogen between 1.5 and 10; passing sequentially decreasing portions of the remaining portion of the hydrogen feedstream to each of the receivably connected serial intermediate or terminal conversion zones at a zone inlet molar ratio of oxygen to hydrogen about the same as that employed in the first zone; recovering hydrogen peroxide and unconverted hydrogen and oxygen from the terminal zone effluent.