THE OXIDATIVE COUPLING OF METHANE WITH COFEEDING OF ETHANE

The oxidative coupling of methane with cofeeding of ethane was investigated experimentally both in the absence and in the presence of a Sn/Li/MgO catalyst. Cofeeding ethane in the absence of catalyst results in a higher total radical concentration, explaining the strong increase of the observed feed conversions. The hydrogen-peroxy radical-concentration increase is more pronounced than the corresponding methyl radical concentration increase, resulting in a lower selectivity. The combined effect of feed conversion and selectivity is beneficial for inlet ethane-to-methane ratios lower than 4 mol%. Ethane cofeeding results in a slight increase of the oxygen conversion in the presence of a Sn/Li/MgO catalyst. This can be accounted for by a mechanism in which both the hydrogen abstraction from the hydrocarbon and the regeneration of the active sites are kinetically significant. The corresponding decrease of methane conversion results from competition between methane and the more reactive ethane for these sites. The addition of ethane does not result in a beneficial effect on conversions to ethane or C-2.