Methane activation: the past and future

Abstract

The conversion of methane to more valuable chemicals is one of the most intensively studied topics in catalysis. The direct conversion of methane is attractive because the process is simple, but unfortunately its products are chemicals that are more reactive than methane. The current status of this research field is discussed with an emphasis on C-H bond activation and future challenges.

Continuous selective oxidation of methane to methanol over Cu- and Fe-modified ZSM-5 catalysts in a flow reactor

“…These benefit from the clean decomposition of the oxidant to H 2 O as an environmentally benign byproduct. The importance of efficient, selective utilisation of methane as a feedstock for the synthesis of bulk chemicals is explored in recent reviews of the catalytic upgrading of methane [33][34][35][36][37]. Unfortunately despite extensive research in the field, no approach has yet been deemed commercially viable, with methanol J. Xu et al / Catalysis Today xxx (2015) xxx-xxx Scheme 1.…”

The distribution of coke formed over a multilayer Mo/HZSM-5 fixed bed in H2 co-fed methane aromatization at 1073 K: Exploration of the coking pathway

“…Mo/HZSM-5 is the most promising catalyst for the nonoxidative methane dehydroaromatization reaction [1][2][3][4]. However, it suffers rapid deactivation due to serious coke formation under practically required severe conditions [5][6][7][8].…”

Catalytic properties and nature of active centers of ferrospheres in oxidative coupling of methane

“…methane, into C 2 -hydrocarbons (ethylene and ethane). Over a period of more than 30 years, a large number of different catalytic materials have been tested for this reaction [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Unfortunately, all known OCM catalysts suffer from insufficiently high selectivity to C 2 -hydrocarbons for industrially relevant (>30 %) degrees of methane conversion.…”