Effect of Methanol on the Gas-Phase Reaction of Trifluoromethane with Methane

The reaction of CHF3 with CH4 in the presence of small amounts of CH3OH (5% of CHF3 concentration) was investigated in a tubular alumina reactor at temperatures between 900 K and 1150 K. The presence of CH3OH has a significant influence on both the conversion and selectivity of the reaction. Increasing the CH3OH concentration enhances the conversion of CHF3 by a factor of 1-4 times at temperatures between 873 K and 1123 K, although the rate of formation of the major products (CH2=CF2) does not increase. A reaction scheme, based on NIST HFC and GRI-Mech mechanisms, is developed to model the reactions. Satisfactory agreement between experimental results and predictions is achieved for the conversion of reactants and formation of products. Based on experimental measurements and modeling results, a detailed reaction mechanism is proposed, and insight into how CH3OH influences the reaction of CHF3 with CH4 is presented.