Rate determination of the catalytic oxidation of methane and propane in an electrochemical solid-electrolyte reactor

The possibility of using a solid-electrolyte reactor in kinetic studies of the catalytic oxidations of hydrocarbon with molecular oxygen was investigated. A theoretical analysis of processes in a catalytically asymmetric gas-diffusion cell in N₂ + O₂ + CH₄ and N₂ + O₂ + C₃H₈ gas mixtures was performed. Analytical expressions are presented for calculating the oxygen, methane, and propane concentrations and the methane and propane oxidation rates in the inner space of the cell from the emf of the latter. The potentiometric response was studied experimentally after the addition of methane and propane in the gas mixture in a reactor with silver electrodes and samples with applied catalytic materials. The concentrations of the components in the inner space of the reactor and the oxidation rates of hydrocarbons were calculated from the experimental data.