Non-Oxidative Methane Conversion Technology

Autothermal Catalytic Wall Reactor

We have built a proof-of-concept for the catalytic wall reactor using the non-oxidative methane conversion (NMC) technique. By coating silica-based catalyst onto the wall of a drinking straw-sized reactor and precisely controlling temperatures and gas flow rates, the heat released by the exothermic reaction supplies heat for the endothermic reaction. Therefore, the NMC reaction can be run auto-thermally and sufficiently meet the benchmark for an economically feasible NMC. The CH4 conversion rate ranges from 10-90% with selectivity >75% to desired products. Stability and impurity tolerant tests showed the robustness of the catalyst. Our focus now is to prove the economics of the reactor on a larger scale. We want to do this through technical-economic analysis through engineering simulation and scale up the reactor 10-100 times. We also target to produce high-value-adding chemicals to potential customers based on our ongoing market discovery process. The fundamental research leads to the technology transfer had been supported by NSF and DOE funding. The above NMC technology has two US patents. MARS also participated in startup programs like Maryland Energy Innovation Pre-Accelerator, DC I-Corp, and UMD Terp Startup Accelerator.