Direct conversion of methane to methanol by a high pressure partial oxidation reaction

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988 · Prepr. Pap., Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5963657

Gesser, H D; Hunter, N R; Morton, L A; Yarlagadda, P S; Fung, D P.C.

The conversion of methane to a liquid storageable fuel is a desirable alternative to compressed natural gas. The simplest liquid is methanol presently formed by the steam reforming of methane to synthesis gas followed by the high pressure catalytic conversion of the synthesis gas to methanol. The process is most economic for large (2000 tonne/day) plants and must be located near large reserves of natural gas or near an appropriate pipeline. The simpler partial oxidation route offers the advantage of directly converting methane to methanol in a single step reaction. The potential for the partial oxidation route together with an economic evaluation has been reported by Edwards and Foster who showed that, provided the selectivity for methanol formation is about 77%, the partial oxidation route has an economic advantage over the conventional synthesis route with no penalty for conversions as low as 4%. Much has been published on the combustion of methane to CO/sub 2/ and H/sub 2/O but very little has been concerned with the intermediate formation of methanol. Gesser et al. recently reviewed the controlled oxidation of CH/sub 4/ to CH/sub 3/OH emphasizing the free radical mechanistic aspects. The heterogeneous catalytic studies was reviewed by Foster and Pitchai and Kleir. Although the literature indicated some potential catalysts no commercial viable reaction system has been developed. Before embarking on a study of the catalytic conversion of CH/sub 4/ to CH/sub 3/OH we attempted to establish a base-line study by examining the homogeneous reaction and here report a summary of the results with methane.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Manitoba, Winnipeg (Canada)
• OSTI ID: 5963657
• Report Number(s): CONF-870802-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Prepr. Pap., Am. Chem. Soc., Div. Fuel Chem.; (United States) Journal Volume: 32:3
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

090221* -- Alcohol Fuels-- Chemical Synthesis-- (1976-1989)
10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
ALCOHOLS
ALKANES
CHEMICAL PREPARATION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DATA
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
HIGH PRESSURE
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
METHANE
METHANOL
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
PARTIAL OXIDATION PROCESSES
SYNTHESIS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES