Partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas over Ru/TiO2 catalysts

Abstract

The catalytic partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas is investigated over Group VIII metal catalysts. It is shown that while all catalysts promote methane combustion followed by reforming with H2O and CO2, the Ru/TiO2 catalyst, to a large extent, promotes the direct formation of synthesis gas. The existence of the direct reaction route is probed by steady-state isotopic transient experiments. The extent of the direct route is found to be sensitive to modifications of the TiO2 carrier. FTIR and XANES studies indicate that the unique performance of the Ru/TiO2 catalyst is related to its high resistance to oxidation, which renders high selectivity to synthesis gas in the presence of oxygen. © 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.