Methane oxidation on the plus side

Industrial Chemistry Industrial conversion of methane to alcohol derivatives involves a circuitous route that starts with overoxidation to carbon monoxide. More direct approaches in highly acidic media have shown promise at small scale but are not cost-effective. Diaz-Urrutia and Ott describe a reaction at pilot-plant scale that combines methane and sulfur trioxide directly in sulfuric acid to form methanesulfonic acid with no by-products (see the Perspective by Schuth). The reaction appears to proceed via a cationic chain mechanism initiated by a low concentration of added sulfonyl peroxide and propagated by CH3+. Science , this issue p. [1326][1]; see also p. [1282][2] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aav0177 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaw7738