Przemysl Chemiczny, Vol.85, No.8-9, 620-623, 2006
Esterification of methane as the first stage in converting the natural gas to methanoll
A review with 34 refs. covering oxidn. of CH4 to MeOH and HCHO, esp. to MeOH in strong acids, and author's studies on catalytic systems including ZnSO4, NiSO4, Pd and PtCl4 in 25% SO3 With MeOH (via ester) in max. 63% yield achieved in PtCl4-25% oleum at 160 degrees C and 4.5 MPa of CH4. Liq. metal-strong acid systems appear to be the most promising.