Oxidative coupling of methane in the presence of rare earth oxide systems

Rare earth oxide concentrates obtained by industrial treatment of naturally occurring ores were examined as catalysts for oxidative coupling of methan e. The selectivity per pass for methane conversion to ethylene approached 4 0% at the overall selectivity for methane dimerization or condensation prod ucts of up to 60 or more than 70%, respectively. The conversion of model pr opane-butane mixtures over some of the examined catalysts yields a signific ant amount of lower olefins, methane, and C-6-C-10 aromatic compounds.