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Of the processes for converting natural gas into a more useful chemical feedstock, the oxidative coupling of methane to form ethane and ethylene (C(2)) has perhaps been the most intensively investigated in recent years, but it has proved extremely difficult to obtain C(2) yields in excess of 20 to 25%. Methane oxidative coupling was carried out in a separative chemical reactor that simulated a countercurrent chromatographic moving-bed. This reaction gives 65% methane conversion, 80% C(2) selectivity, and a C(2) yield slightly better than 50% with Sm(2)O(3) catalyst at approximately 1000 K.

SummaryThe scale-up of a microchannel reactor for Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis has progressed through multiple scales. Equivalent process performance was demonstrated across each scale. Small single channel test reactors (~4 cm in length) have demonstrated excellent performance of an FT catalyst provided by Oxford Catalysts, Ltd. Catalyst from the same batch was tested in two long microchannel reactors (~62 cm in length), with equal performance at a GHSV of 12,400 hr -1 . Further the same catalyst replicated the performance from both short and long single channel reactors in a pilot reactor with 276 parallel process channels (~ 16 cm in length). The elusive premise of numbering up microchannel has been demonstrated, enabling the scale-up of reactor capacity.