Oxidative Coupling of Methane on Fe-Doped La2O3 Catalyst

Abstract

Various La2O3-based catalysts are well-known to be useful for the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM reaction). We examined the catalytic activities of various La2O3-based OCM catalysts for the OCM reaction in the kinetic region (i.e., lower O2 conversion). Our investigation revealed that the Fe-doped La2O3 catalyst is a good candidate for the OCM reaction. The La/Fe ratio of the Fe-doped La2O3 catalyst is an important factor for OCM activity. Especially, the O2-based C2 yield of the Fe-doped La2O3 catalyst was higher than that of La2O3 in the case of La/Fe > 5. The Fe-doped La2O3 catalyst modified with Na2O and Na4P2O7 showed high C2 selectivity (83%). Moreover, modification with Bi compounds also enhanced C2 selectivity of the Fe-doped La2O3 catalyst. This catalyst showed higher C2 yield than the Fe-doped La2O3 catalyst.