Non-Catalytic direct partial oxidation of methane to methanol in a Wall-Coated microreactor
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-15-2024
Abstract
An integrated mixer-reactor-heat exchanger microtube scalable system for the non-catalytic direct partial oxidation of methane to methanol was developed. With this module one can control the five key parameters (temperature, pressure, residence time, wall inertness and methane:air ratio) to selectively produce methanol at greater than 8 % per-pass yield (product of conversion and selectivity), under optimal conditions. For this module, these conditions were 80 bar, ∼420 °C outer wall temperature, a methane/air molar ratio of 2.9 and a residence time of 0.8 min. At lower methane/air molar ratios good yields were still possible, but at lower methanol selectivities. The walls were rendered inert using a carbiding process based on the decomposition of propane at 700 °C. While this carbide layer is not stable under long-term, repeated use, it is currently stable for about two days of operation.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
Chemical Engineering Journal
Recommended Citation
Cohen, K., Blanchard, J., Rodriguez, P., Kelly, K., Dorman, J., & Dooley, K. (2024). Non-Catalytic direct partial oxidation of methane to methanol in a Wall-Coated microreactor. Chemical Engineering Journal, 482 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2024.149049