Surface properties of CaO (or BaO)-La<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB>-MgO catalysts and their performance in oxidative coupling of methane

CaO-La<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB>-MgO and BaO-La<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB>-MgO catalysts with different compositions have been studied for their bulk and surface properties (viz. crystal phases, surface area, acidity/acid strength distribution, basicity/base strength distribution, etc.) and catalytic activity/selectivity in the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) at different processing conditions (reaction temperature, 700-850° C; CH<SUB>4</SUB>/O<SUB>2</SUB> ratio in feed, 3.0, 4.0 and 8.0 and GHSV, 102000 and 204000 cm<SUP>3</SUP> g<SUP>-1</SUP> h<SUP>-1</SUP>). The surface acidity and strong basicity of La<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB>-MgO are found to be increased due to the addition of a third component (CaO or BaO), depending upon its concentration in the catalyst. The addition of CaO or BaO to La<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB>-MgO OCM catalyst causes a significant improvement in its performance. Both the CaO- and BaO-containing catalysts show a high activity and selectivity at 800° C, whereas, the activity and selectivity of BaO-containing catalysts at 700° C is lower than that of CaO-containing catalysts