Bimetallic catalysts for the catalytic combustion of methane using microreactor technology

Pt–W and Pt–Mo based catalysts were evaluated for methane combustion using a sandwich-type microreactor. Alumina washcoated microchannels were impregnated with platinum in combination with and promoted with tungsten and molybdenum and compared with commercially available Pt/Al2O3 catalysts. Catalysts were tested in the range of 300–700 °C with flow rates adjusted to GHSV of 74,000 h−1 and WHSV of 316 L h−1 g−1. Catalysts containing tungsten were found to be the most active and the most stable possibly due to a metal interaction effect. A Pt–W/γ-Al2O3 containing 4.6 wt% Pt and 9 wt% W displayed the highest activity with full conversion at 600 °C and a selectivity to CO2 of 99%.