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Catalysts for the synthesis of formaldehyde by partial oxidation of methane

Journal Article · · J. Catal.; (United States)

In the current chemical industry, methane is converted to formaldehyde through a three-step process involving steam reforming at high temperatures, methanol synthesis, and partial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. The steam reforming process requires a lot of energy as well as complicated engineering steps. Unlike this multistage process, the direct conversion of methane to formaldehyde by partial oxidation does not require energy input. The catalytic partial oxidation of methane to CH/sub 3/OH and HCHO using N/sub 2/O as an oxidant has been studied extensively for MoO/sub 3//SiO/sub 2/ and V/sub 2/O/sub 5//SiO/sub 2/. However, when replacing N/sub 2/O with O/sub 2/ as the oxygen source, only a few attempts were successful at getting CH/sub 3/OH or HCHO. The purpose of this work is to look for the metal oxides which are active and selective for synthesizing HCHO by partial oxidation of methane using oxygen as the oxidant. The factors determining the catalytic activity and selectivity are discussed. 9 references.

Research Organization:
Tokyo Institute of Technology (Japan)
OSTI ID:
5230882
Journal Information:
J. Catal.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Catal.; (United States) Vol. 108:1; ISSN JCTLA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English