Methane is the largest component of natural gas and possesses numerous thermodynamic and kinetic challenges for its selective one-step conversion to value-added products. The current state-of-the-art methane conversion technology involves multi-step capital intensive syngas production, water-gas shift to control CO/H2 ratio, followed by Fischer-Tropsch or methanol synthesis. There is much current interest in monetizing abundant CH4 by developing catalysts for the one-step Oxidative Conversion of Methane (OCM) to C2Hx hydrocarbons because of CH4’s high transportation costs from remote locations. One of the driving forces for developing the exothermic OCM is the high energy demand of endothermic ethane thermal cracking to ethylene. This work describes current state of the art understanding in limitations of the best performing OCM catalyst, supported Mn/Na2WO4/SiO2, that still lacks a molecular level understanding in spite of numerous reported studies in the literature. In situ and operando elucidation of the active sites and their evolution under working conditions investigated using Raman, UV-vis, X-ray techniques in combination with DFT will also be presented.

Molecular structure of Mn- and Na-doped WOx/SiO2 catalysts during oxidative coupling of methane (OCM)

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.