Low temperature catalytic partial oxidation of methane for gas-to-liquids applications

The catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) of methane in the presence of steam (low temperature catalytic partial oxidation, LTCPO) over noble metal catalysts was investigated. The “dry” CPO over ruthenium and rhodium catalysts was studied by thermogravimetric analyses coupled with IR spectroscopy. For CPO conditions, high CO selectivities at comparably low temperatures were observed for a rhodium/γ-alumina catalyst (5% rhodium) and a 1% ruthenium/TiO 2 catalyst giving evidence that a direct reaction mechanism is involved at low temperatures. It was found that under CPO conditions at low temperatures (