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The considerable recent interest in the conversion of stranded methane into transportable liquids as well as fuel cell technology has provided a renewed impetus to the development of efficient processes for the generation of syngas. The production of syngas (CO/H2), a very versatile intermediate, can be the most expensive step in the conversion of methane to value-added liquid fuels. The catalytic oxy reforming of methane, which is an energy-efficient process that can produce syngas at extremely high space-time yields, is discussed in this Review. As long-term catalyst performance is crucial for the wide-scale commercialization of this process, catalyst-related studies are abundant. Correspondingly, herein, emphasis is placed on discussing the different issues related to the development of catalysts for oxy reforming. Important aspects of related processes such as catalytic oxy-steam, oxy-CO2, and oxy-steam-CO2 processes will also be discussed.

Conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbons by its low-temperature activation without forming undesirable carbon oxides is of great scientific and practical importance. Methane can be highly activated, yielding high rates of conversion to higher hydrocarbons and aromatics (10 to 45 percent) at low temperatures (400° to 600°C), by its reaction over H-galloaluminosilicate ZSM-5 type (MFI) zeolite in the presence of alkenes or higher alkanes. The methane activation results from its hydrogen-transfer reaction with alkenes.

Benzyl alcohol is oxidized selectively to benzaldehyde with high yield, with a little formation of benzylbenzoate, by molecular oxygen over a reusable nano-size gold catalyst supported on U 3 O 8 , MgO, Al 2 O 3 or ZrO 2 in the absence of any solvent.Liquid phase oxidation of benzyl alcohol is an important preferred reaction practically for the production of chlorine-free benzaldehyde, without loss of carbon in the form of CO 2 (a geenhouse gas). The preparation of benzaldehyde by reacting benzyl alcohol with stoichiometric or excess amounts of potassium or ammonium permanganate in aqueous acidic medium 1 is not environmentally benign at all, because of the formation of a large amount of toxic waste. A few studies on the benzyl alcoholto-benzaldehyde oxidation by H 2 O 2 or O 2 in the presence of organic solvent, using different solid catalysts, such as Pd/C, 2 Pd(II) hydrotalcite, 3 Pd-Ag/pumice, 4 Ru-Co-Al hydrotalcite, 5 Ni-containing hydrotalcite 6,7 and nano-size NiO 2, 8 have been