A study of the homogeneous oxidation of low-concentration methane-containing gases at high temperatures

It is shown that homogeneous oxidation of methane in air in a flow-reactor at methane concentrations of 0.5–2.0 vol %, temperatures of 700–1100°C, and contact time of 0.024–0.384 s occurs via formation of CO whose concentration passes through a maximum with increasing temperature. The selectivity of methane oxidation to CO reaches values of 70–90%. The degree of methane conversion depends on reactor packing and reactor diameter, which suggests that the process occurs by the radical-chain mechanism.