New method for direct conversion of methane

Methane was oxidized by oxygen in the absence of a catalyst with the microwire initiation (MWI) method, which was composed of an electrically heated small wire and a low-temperature reaction zone. With the existence of initiation reaction, methanol and carbon monoxide were formed at 393 K gas phase temperature. The main products of the reaction were methanol, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and water. With the batch-wise MWI system, methanol selectivity was higher than 80% at the initial stage of the reaction. In the absence of MWI, no products were formed under 653 K of gas phase temperature in the chain reaction zone. We proposed a new model for the oxidation of methane with microwire initiation.