Methane to methanol / a direct pathway ?

[Borealis]

Dear all !

Does anyone have experience with direct methane conversion to methanol ?
I am trying to explore a new pathway avoiding the syn gas step.
One can basically think of two approaches:
a) chemically via classic catalysts, b) biologically via enzymes or bacteria.
Research has been done for almost 100 years on that topic, so far no ona has implemented an economically feasible process for making methanol directly from methane.
The main problem is the low yield (below 10 %).

Who knows something about this topic and who knows someone who could
contribute ?

 

[ssb]

Dear all !

Does anyone have experience with direct methane conversion to methanol ?
I am trying to explore a new pathway avoiding the syn gas step.
One can basically think of two approaches:
a) chemically via classic catalysts, b) biologically via enzymes or bacteria.
Research has been done for almost 100 years on that topic, so far no ona has implemented an economically feasible process for making methanol directly from methane.
The main problem is the low yield (below 10 %).

Who knows something about this topic and who knows someone who could
contribute ?

Sounds like a holy grail reaction. Methane is very very happy as it is and you would have to do an awful lot to change it. I ran a search on sci-finder and didn't come up with anyone doing this type of study lately. There is one patent i could find but it looks to have low yield (such as you suggested). maybe soon if there becomes a big enough demand for this type of reaction.

biologically doing this sounds more logical imo because something under extremely basic conditions would be hard. Ill ask around for you around the lab and see if anyone knows anything

 

[ravenprp]

Thank you for bringing up this interesting topic! The direct conversion of methane to methanol has been a subject of research for many years, as you mentioned. While there have been some successes in laboratory settings, the challenge lies in scaling up the process for industrial use. The low yield is indeed a major obstacle, as well as the high energy requirements and complex reaction pathways involved in this conversion. However, there are ongoing efforts and advancements in catalysts and biotechnology that may lead to more efficient and cost-effective methods in the future. It's great to see that you are exploring new pathways and I wish you luck in your research. Perhaps reaching out to experts in the field or collaborating with other researchers could provide valuable insights and contributions. Thank you for bringing attention to this important topic.