Methyl halide to olefins and gasoline over zeolites and SAPO catalysts: A new route of MTO and MTG

Rational and efficient conversion of methane to more useful higher hydrocarbons is one of the most important topics of natural gas utilization. Although methane activation and its conversion to valuable compounds attract an increasing attention, methane conversion is often made in indirect way through the very energy-consuming step for syngas production from steam reforming of methane. Some promising results appeared to be of significance for the development of an alternative and potential route for the production of high value-added products from methane. Efficient conversion of methane to higher hydrocarbons could be realized via methyl halide as the intermediate. After the production of halomethane, they could be transformed to gasoline and light olefins over modified zeolites and SAPO molecular sieves. High conversion efficiency and selectivity indicated the feasibility of industrial application. The research gained recently growing interest from the point of view in both fundamental research and industrial application. The study on the reaction mechanism shed light on the possible route of C-C bond construction from methyl halide, which is the very important issue of the C -reactant conversion to higher hydrocarbons. Hydrogen halide generation during methyl halide conversion did not exert apparent impact on the reaction mechanism and the structure stability of the catalysts. This review deals with the evolution of the field and comments the advantages to be explored and the drawbacks to be prevented for the development of new and sustainable methane-to-olefins (MTO) and methane-to-gasoline (MTG) routes via methyl halides.