The partial oxidation of methane on MoO[sub 3]/SiO[sub 2] catalysts: Influence of the molybdenum content and type of oxidant

Journal Article · Sun Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1993 · Journal of Catalysis; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1006/jcat.1993.1218· OSTI ID:5719487

Banares, M A; Fierro, J L.G. ^[1]; Moffat, J B ^[2]

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1. Instituto de Catalisis y Petroleoquimica, Madrid (Spain)
2. Univ. of Waterloo, Ontario (Canada)

The selective oxidation of methane to formaldehyde at atmospheric pressure was studied over a series of silica supported molybdena catalysts. Two silica supports of substantially different surface areas (80 and 200 m[sup 2]/g) and molybdenum contents ranging from 0 to 3.5 Mo/nm[sup 2] were used for this purpose. The catalytic performance of the two catalyst series was compared for a wide range of experimental conditions, including the influence of the oxidant in the feed (O[sub 2] or N[sub 2]O). The main products of the oxidation reaction were formaldehyde, CO and CO[sub 2]. Small amounts of C[sub 2]H[sub 6] and CH[sub 3]OH were also identified. For typical reaction conditions, i.e., reaction temperatures 863 K, W/F = 4.5 g h/mol and CH[sub 4]/O[sub 2] = 10 M both methane conversion and formaldehyde selectivity were higher with O[sub 2] as oxidant. Furthermore, formaldehyde selectivity reaches a maximum for molybdenum concentrations ca. 1 Mo/nm[sup 2] with both oxidants. The molybdenum exposure on the surface of fresh and spent catalysts was monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. 45 refs., 10 figs., 6 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 5719487
• Journal Information: Journal of Catalysis; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Catalysis; (United States) Vol. 142:2; ISSN 0021-9517; ISSN JCTLA5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
100200 -- Synthetic Fuels-- Production-- (1990-)
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400201* -- Chemical & Physicochemical Properties
ALKANES
CATALYSIS
CATALYST SUPPORTS
CATALYSTS
CATALYTIC EFFECTS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
HETEROGENEOUS CATALYSIS
HYDROCARBONS
METHANE
MOLYBDENUM COMPOUNDS
MOLYBDENUM OXIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY
REFRACTORY METAL COMPOUNDS
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
SPECTROSCOPY
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY