Reduction of cobalt oxide with methane

The present work deals with reduction of cobalt oxide, CoO, with methane. Thermogravimetry was used for finding kinetic parameters of the reduction reaction. The reaction of cobalt oxide with methane was carried out in the temperature range 800 degreesC to 950 degreesC at atmospheric pressures with porous pellets prepared from cobalt oxide powder with a mean particle size of 10.6 mum. Assuming that the reaction is first order with respect to methane concentration, the activation energy is found to be 155 kJ/mol (+/-20).