Fluorinated olefins, as a class, have many and varied uses, including as chemical intermediates and monomers.
Several methods for preparing fluorinated olefins are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,875 discloses methods for manufacturing 1,1,1,2,3-pentafluoropropene and 1,1,1,2,3-pentafluoropropane; U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,141 discloses a catalytic process using chromium-containing catalysts for the dehydrofluorination of hydrofluorocarbons to fluoroolefins; U.S. Pat. No. 5,396,000 discloses a process for producing CF3CHFCH2F using vapor phase catalytic dehydrohalogenation to produce CF3CF═CHF and HF, followed by vapor phase catalytic hydrogenation of CF3CF═CHF in the presence of HF; U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,719 discloses a process for producing fluoroolefins by dehydrohalogenating a hydrofluorocarbon in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst; U.S. Publication No. 2006/0106263 discloses the production and purification of hydrofluoroolefin compounds; and WO98/33755 discloses catalytic process for the dehydrofluorination of hexafluoropropanes to pentafluoropropenes.
Applicants have discovered that the processes of the type described above have disadvantages and/or are not as effective and/or economical as would be practically necessary for large scale commercial production. For example, applicants have come to appreciate that it is generally not possible, by following the teachings of the above publications alone, to achieve a process having at once a high degree of ultimate conversion and a high degree of selectivity to the desired fluorinated olefin.