Autothermal Oxidative Coupling of Methane over Pt/Al₂O₃ Catalysts Doped with Rare Earth Oxides

Abstract

The effect of rare earth oxides as dopants on the Pt‐governed oxidative coupling of methane (Pt‐OCM) is investigated. The addition of 20 wt.‐% of La‐, Nd‐, Sm‐, and Pr‐oxides to the support benefits the C₂ product selectivity and offers the potential to enhance the catalyst stability. Compared to the reference catalyst Pt/Al₂O₃, the addition of Sm₂O₃ increased the total selectivity by up to 23 %. Furthermore, La₂O₃ addition was found beneficial with respect to the (thermal) stability of the catalyst. Dopant content variations uncovered that the catalyst formulation with 20 wt.‐% La₂O₃ represents an optimum regarding performance and stability.