Partial Oxidation of Methane to Liquid Oxygenates Using Atmospheric Pressure Non-equilibrium Plasma Microreactor

摘要

Direct synthesis of liquid oxygenates from partial oxidation of methane has been studied in a continuous-flow, non-equilibrium plasma microreactor near 0 °C at atmospheric pressure. Liquid-water injection method into the microreactor was introduced to remove incomplete oxidation products such as methanol to prevent further oxidation with excited species in microplasma reactor. Unlike conventional methane oxidation under high-temperature conditions, significant amount of hydrogen peroxide (H_2O_2) was produced in the microplasma reactor at low-temperature and contributed to accelerate rate-determining step of methane partial oxidation: hydroxyl radicals (OH) derived from H_2O_2 abstract hydrogen from methane efficiently. Eventually, one-pass yield of 10% for liquid oxygenates was demonstrated as a result of synergistic effect of H_2O_2 and O_2 as oxidants.