Plant for the homogeneous oxidation of methane-containing gas and process for the oxidation of methane-containing gas

A process for homogenous oxidation of methane-containing gas comprising the feeding of methane-containing gas preheated to 430-4500 C to at least three sequentially installed oxidation reactors made of carbon steel, wherein each reactor, except the last one, is connected independently to waste-heat boilers, and the reactors are also fed with oxygen in an amount such as to form a mixture below the explosive limit of concentration, which induces homogenous oxidation of methane-containing gas with a simultaneous increase of the gas mixture temperature to 540-5600 C, with subsequent rapid quenching-cooling of the gas mixture to 440-4500 C in waste-heat boilers where steam is formed, the steam is fed to a rectification tower for separation of end products, then from the last reactor which is not connected to a waste-heat boiler the reaction mixture is fed to a separator wherein, on the way to the separator, the reaction mixture heats the cycled gas, and some of its heat is also used for the generation of water steam which is combined with the steam from waste-heat boilers, from the separator the liquid phase is fed to the rectification stage where rectified methanol, ethyl alcohol and formaldehyde are produced, and the gas phase is fed for cleaning it from SO2, CO and CO2, wherein, at the same time the gas phase is cleaned, the circulation cycle is partially purged to remove inert gases, for instance, nitrogen and argon, the number of purging cycles is determined based on the permissible amount of inert gases in the cycle, and after cleaning and purging the cycle is completed by replenishing the gas-phase/cycled gas with the original methane-containing gas and feeding the newly formed gas to the reactor.