An Investigation into the Effect of Preparation Methods for Na2WO4- Mn/SiO2 Catalysts on the Performance of the Methane Oxidative Coupling Reaction

Na2WO4-Mn/SiO2 catalysts were prepared for oxidative coupling of methane using co-precipitation, wetness impregnation and wet impregnation methods. Catalytic performances of the prepared catalyst samples were examined under the same conditions in a fixed bed microreactor. It was found that the Na2WO4-Mn/SiO2 catalystsprepared by the wet and wetness impregnation methods have similar performances and both methods have superior performances over that of the co-precipitation method. The results also show that the catalysts prepared by the wetness and wet impregnation methods present excellent stability performance. The catalysts were characterized by means of BET, SEM and XRD tests. The results show that the Na2WO4 phase is necessaryfor achievement of the desired performance.