We developed an aerobic oxidation process for 2-butanol, our model substrate for a challenging secondary higher alcohol. We studied the process using spinel cobaltites as catalysts, which are complex materials, and in the liquid phase, with all the additional complexity that having a solvent phase entails. We propose a Mars van Krevelen-type mechanism, and our results fit the previously reported models according to which ensembles of coordinately unsaturated Co 3+ are the active sites for Co3O4. Among the prepared doped samples, MnCo2O4 stood out as it outperformed the standard Co3O4 catalyst. The boosted performance is attributed to Mn-specific effects, instead of an amplification of the activity of the Co3O4 framework. The processes favour the desired partial oxidation to MEK, but with considerable total oxidation to CO2. No other byproducts are detected. Our work aims to help bridge the gap from the previously developed processes on well-defined nanoparticular spinels to real conditions, using more industrially relevant setup consisting of a liquid-phase flow reactor and technical grade catalysts, produced by a cheap, quick and dirty combustion synthesis. The spinels contain earth-abundant and relatively low-cost elements and could serve as a viable alternative to noble-metal-based catalysts, commonly employed in oxidations of higher alcohols. The Co3O4 and MnCo2O4 catalysts are also stable over long periods of time, albeit the macroporous structure collapsed into a pellet during the process. We also performed the liquid-phase reactions in batch to test different conditions and rule out flow-specific effects, and in the gas phase. Our catalysts behave differently in this last setting, with the Mn boosting effect turning into an inhibiting one, in line with previously reported data. The results highlight liquid phase-specific effects, and the possibility that the reaction mechanism in the gas phase is completely different.