METAL MONOLITHS FOR CONVERSION OF NATURAL GAS TO LIQUID FUEL

ADVANCED METHODS FOR THE CONVERSION OF NATURAL GAS TO LIQUID FUELS ARE NEEDED SO THAT NATURAL GAS ENERGY RESOURCES CAN BE BETTER UTILIZED. IN RECENT RESEARCH BREAKTHROUGHS, CERAMIC MONOLITHS HAVE BEEN USED IN PARTIAL OXIDATION TO CATALYZE VERY FAS, HIGH SELECTIVITY SYNTHESIS OF HIGHER HYDROCARBONS FROM METHANE. USE OF METAL MONOLITHS (SOLID METAL PLATES PERFORATED WITH SMALL, UNIFORM HOLES) IS PLANNED AS A NEW CATALYST FOR CARRYING OUT THESE REACTIONS. METAL MONOLITHS HAVE HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY, SO THAT THE HEAT OF REACTION CAN BE REMOVED AND THE REACTION TEMPERATURE REGULATED. THIS WILL ALLOW FASTER REACTANT FEED RATES AND HIGHER YIELDS THAN ARE POSSIBLE WITH CURRENTLY AVAILABLE CERAMIC MONOLITH CATALYSTS. A NOVEL FABRICATION TECHNIQUE ALLOWS THIN LAYERS OF NOBLE METALS TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE HOLES OF THE MONOLITH, SO THAT THE REACTION RATE CAN BE FURTHER ENHANCED. THESE MONOLITHS CAN BE FABRICATED WITH HOLE DIAMETERS LESS THAN ONE MICRON AND POROSITIES AS HIGH AS 75%. THE PROPOSED METAL MONOLITH CATALYSTS CAN BE MOUNTED IN LARGE ARRAYS, AND THUS SCALED UP FOR COMMERCIAL CHEMICAL PRODUCTION. IN PHASE I, METAL MONOLITHS WILL BE USED TO EXAMINE THE OXIDATION OF CH4 AND OTHER COMPONENTS IN NATURAL GAS TO PRODUCE SYNTHESIS GAS AND OTHER LIQUID PRODUCTS. THESE REACTION PRODUCTS CAN BE USED AS FUELS AND IN VARIOUS CHEMICAL PRODUCTION PROCESSES.