Process for the manufacture of mixtures of formaldehyde and methanol by partial oxidation of methane

Claim 1

In a continuous process for the partial oxidation of methane to formaldehyde and methanol using oxygen or oxygen containing oxidizing gases, by allowing methane or a methane/inert gas mixture and oxidizing gas to flow together in a combustion tube under a pressure of more than 5 bars after the methane or the methane/inert gas mixture has been heated separately to 300° to 600° C., reacting the gas mixture resulting from the combination of said gases in a reaction zone of said combustion tube in the form of a flame by self-ignition at 300° to 600° C. to produce methanol and formaldehyde, cooling the reaction mixture and separating the resulting products, the improvement which comprises feeding the oxidizing gas concentrically into a stream of methane or a methane/inert gas mixture, the velocity of which, measured in the cylindrical section of the combustion tube, is 1 to 15 m. second -1 , the velocity of the oxidizing gas being 50 to 300 m. second -1 higher than that of the methane or methane/inert gas mixture and the volume of the stream of methane gas being 3 to 100 times greater than that of the stream of oxidizing gas, said inert gas being a gas inert under the reaction conditions.