Formox process
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The formox process produces formaldehyde.
Industrially, formaldehyde is produced by the catalytic oxidation of methanol. The most commonly used catalysts are silver metal or a mixture of an iron oxide with molybdenum and vanadium. In the more commonly used iron oxide system (formox process), methanol and oxygen react at 400°C to produce formaldehyde according to the chemical equation
The silver-based catalyst is usually operated at a higher temperature, about 650°C. On it, two chemical reactions simultaneously produce formaldehyde: the one shown above, and the dehydrogenation reaction
Further oxidation of the formaldehyde product during its production usually gives formic acid that is found in formaldehyde solution, found in ppm values.
