Volume 64, Issue 24 e202502822
Research Article

A Novel Tandem Reaction System for High-Concentration Acetic Acid Production from Methane and Oxygen

Haonan Zhang

Haonan Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Yang Li

Yang Li

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Shuai Wang

Shuai Wang

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Shuxu Zhu

Shuxu Zhu

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Chaoqun Gu

Chaoqun Gu

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Pengye Zhang

Pengye Zhang

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Hongjie Qin

Hongjie Qin

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Runze Guo

Runze Guo

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Wenbin Wang

Wenbin Wang

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Tianshi Xu

Tianshi Xu

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Gaiyan Jiao

Gaiyan Jiao

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Jianrong Zeng

Jianrong Zeng

Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201204 P.R. China

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Yanyan Xi

Yanyan Xi

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Qi Hua

Qi Hua

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

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Mingbo Wu

Corresponding Author

Mingbo Wu

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, Qingdao, 266061 P.R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Wenting Wu

Corresponding Author

Wenting Wu

State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Institute of New Energy China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, 266580 P.R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 07 April 2025

Graphical Abstract

This study developed a plasma-thermo-catalytic tandem system, optimizing plasma processes in a self-designed reactor to achieve 68.0% methane conversion and 5.2 mol L−1 methanol concentration. A hydrophobic ReRh/ZSM-5-S catalyst minimized byproduct effects, enabling 52.0% acetic acid selectivity and 1.3 mol L−1 concentration, three orders of magnitude higher than traditional methods, meeting industrial criteria and advancing efficient methane utilization.

Abstract

Directly converting methane into high-value products like CH3COOH poses significant challenges owing to the kinetic limitations of C─H activation and C─C coupling in traditional single-catalysis methods. This work systematically studied the compatibility and effectiveness of plasma and thermocatalytic tandem systems. By optimizing the plasma process in a self-designed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor, we enhanced methane conversion (68.0%), methanol concentration (5.2 mol L−1), and CO selectivity (56.9%), while preventing carbon deposition and CO2 formation. In subsequent thermocatalysis, we developed the stearic acid-modified ReRh/ZSM-5-S hydrophobic catalyst to avoid the separation of methanol and CO from the mixture and minimize the influence of by-products (e.g., H2O). This innovative approach achieved 52.0% CH3COOH selectivity and 1.3 mol L−1 concentrations, three orders of magnitude than traditional methods, meeting the preliminary industrial criteria. This study demonstrates the potential of tandem catalysis, offering valuable insights for the efficient utilization of methane and other challenging catalytic reactions.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available in the supplementary material of this article.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.