Oxygen addition to reduce inerts in an acrylonitrile reactor

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A process for increasing the yield of an ammoxidation product by passing a feed into a reactor passing an oxygen-containing gas stream containing at least a portion of inerts into the reactor passing a, substantially pure oxygen stream into the reactor and, reducing the flow of the oxygen-containing gas stream while increasing the flow of said substantially pure oxygen stream, wherein the total rate of flow of oxygen from the oxygen-containing gas stream and the substantially pure oxygen stream is maintained in an effective amount to produce the ammoxidation product such that the flow of said inerts passing into the reactor is substan tially reduced.