Methane partial oxidation. Challenge and perspective

The perspectives of direct partial oxidation of methane is considered in the light of the stability of the products of its partial oxidation. New data on the partial oxidation of methane into syngas are presented. x CoO .(1-x)MgO . Al2O3 catalysts exhibit excellent performance along with a high stability, Partial oxidation of methane to oxy-products - formaldehyde and methanol, which is relatively unstable, has been performed with the product's removal from the reaction stream. It allows, using a cold trap, reach remarkable conversion with a high selectivity in the case of oxidation into formaldehyde and produce high concentration of methanol solution with the use of a special reagent-adsorbent in the case of methane oxidation to methanol. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.