The Effect of Metals of the 2nd and 12th Groups on the Productivity and Selectivity of Cumene Oxidation—The First Stage of the Technological Chain for the Production of Polymer Composites

The effect of the process temperature and the initial concentration of Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn, Cd, and Hg 2-ethylhexanoates as catalysts on the productivity and selectivity of the oxidation stage of cumene is studied in the technological chain for the production of polymer composites from cumene; “production of phenol by cumene method (stage 1 is cumene oxidation to cumene hydroperoxide, stage 2 is decomposition of cumene hydroperoxide into phenol and acetone) → production of precursors from phenol → production of polymers from precursors → production of composites from polymers”. A criterion has been introduced that reflects the productivity of cumene oxidation at the moment of reaching the maximum concentration of cumene hydroperoxide, which takes into account the cumene conversion and selectivity achieved in this case in the shortest possible time using the selectivity comparable with the selectivity of a non-catalytic process. It has been shown that the achievement of the maximum value of this criterion, among all the considered catalysts, is ensured by Mg 2-ethylhexanoate at its relatively low initial concentration (1 mmol/L) under conditions of moderately-high process temperatures (393–413 K).