(388c) Oxidative Coupling of Methane over MnO-Na2WO4/SiO2 Catalyst: New Insights from Operating at Isothermal Conditions

With the shale gas boom in the U.S, research in utilizing C₁as feedstock is exponentially increasing.  Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is one of the most commonly studied reaction for converting methane to ethylene, a key building blocks for many chemicals.  It is well known that OCM is highly exothermic reaction and that managing heat is one of the key challenges in conducting this reaction, even at the laboratory scale.  As a result, it is difficult to understand the true temperature of the catalyst using commonly studied fixed bed reactors.  Kinetic study is also important for scale up and reactor design.

In this presentation, OCM was studied at near-isothermal conditions on traditionally studied mixed metal oxide catalysts (e.g. MnO-Na₂WO₄/SiO₂).  Results showing isothermal operation indicating the true temperature of the catalyst and the intrinsic selectivity towards C₂+ hydrocarbons under isothermal conditions will be presented.