METHOD FOR THERMAL OXIDATION OF METHANE TO METHANOL Russian patent published in 2012 - IPC C07C29/48 C07C31/04 

FIELD: chemistry.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to a method for thermal oxidation of methane to methanol, involving heating a portion of the initial methane-containing gas from a complex gas treatment plant in a furnace at given pressure and concentration of oxygen in the initial gas of 20-25 vol. %, fed into a reactor into the space behind the jacket of the tubular cooling zone, and from there into the reaction zone where gas-phase oxidation of methane takes place, with subsequent cooling of the reaction mixture in the tubular cooling zone of the reactor, final cooling of the reaction mixture in a cooler-condenser, during which the cooled reaction mixture is divided into waste gases and liquid products to obtain high- and low-pressure vapour and heating water, wherein regulation of the temperature conditions of the reactor is carried out by feeding into the reaction zone of the reactor a portion of the cold initial gas and measuring heating temperature of a portion of the initial gas fed to the input of the tubular part of the cooling zone of the reactor. Air contained in the initial gas is enriched with oxygen to concentration 25-50 vol. %, and the ratio is equal to -(5-15), where is the bulk concentration of methane in the initial gas; is the bulk concentration of oxygen in the initial gas.

EFFECT: method enables to efficiently obtain the end product in one cycle.

1 ex, 3 dwg