Homogeneous catalysis concerns processes in which a catalyst is in solution

with at least one of the reactants. An example of homogeneous catalysis is the

industrial Oxo process for manufacturing normal isobutylaldehyde. It has
propylene, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen as the reactants and a liquid-phase
cobalt complex as the catalyst. Reactions carried out in supercritical fluids have
been found to accelerate the reaction rate greatly.' By manipulating the
properties of the solvent in which the reaction is taking place, interphase mass
transfer limitations can be eliminated.
A heterogeneous catalytic process involves more than one phase: usually
the catalyst is a solid and the reactants and products are in liquid or gaseous
form. Much of the benzene produced in this country today is manufactured
from the dehydrogenation of cyclohexane (obtained from the distillation of
crude petroleum) using platinum-on-alumina as the catalyst: Sometimes the
reacting mixture is in both the liquid and gaseous forms, as in the
hydrodesulfurization of heavy petroleum fractions. Of these two types of
catalysis, heterogeneous catalysis is the more common type. The simple and
complete separation of the fluid product mixture from the solid catalyst makes
heterogeneous catalysis economically attractive, especially because many
catalysts are quire valuable and their reuse is demanded.
A heterogeneous catalytic reaction occurs at or very near the fluid-solid
interface. The principles that govern heterogeneous catalytic reactions can be
applied to both catalytic and non-catalytic fluid-solid reactions. The two other
types of heterogeneous reactions invoIve gas-Iiquid and gas-liquid-solid
systems. Reactions between gases and liquids are usually mass-transfer
limited.