Catalyst development for oxidative methane coupling

The heterogeneously catalyzed oxidative coupling of methane has been investigated for several catalysts. A Ce/Li/MgO system was found to be the most attractive catalyst. The regeneration of the active sites seems to play a major role in the radical generating mechanism. The influence of the operating conditions on the conversion/selectivity has been studied, in order to find conditions for an optimal yield of C₂₊ - hydrocarbons. It is demonstrated that it is unrewarding to compare different types of catalysts only under selected standard conditions.