Effect of quenching on the methane coupling reaction

The effect of reaction mixture quenching on C₂ product formation in the methane coupling reaction on La₂O₃/CaO is disclosed. For reaction with the mixture (vol. %): 54.5 CH₄, 9.1 O₂ and 36.4 N₂ at 973 K, quenching of products results in a two-fold decrease in C₂ product yield. The results give evidence that in methane oxidative coupling methyl radical formation can occur in the gas phase to an extent comparable with that on the catalyst surface. The effect described must be taken into account in the case of an industrial application of methane oxidative coupling, too, because quenching is a regular procedure in the high temperature oxidative processes.