Partial oxidation of methanol at millisecond contact times Original Research Article

The partial oxidation of methanol has been carried out on Pt- and Rh-coated α-alumina monoliths in an autothermal, short contact time reactor. This is seen as a possible first step in converting methanol to hydrogen for use in fuel cells for mobile applications. Methanol was readily converted to primarily CO and H2 at CH3OH/O2 ratios from two to five. Higher ratios produced lower temperatures, lower methanol conversions, and higher H2 selecitivities. CO selectivity on both catalysts increased from CH3OH/O2=2 to 3–3.5, but decreased beyond this ratio. This was attributed to the water-gas shift reaction where equilibrium of this reaction becomes more favorable at higher ratios due to the decrease in reaction temperature. Platinum and rhodium gave very similar trends, suggesting that thermodynamic equilibrium, not catalyst properties, determines product composition.