2445.     NEWITT, D. M., AND HAFFNER, A. E.  Formation of Methanol and Formaldehyde in the Slow Combustion of Methane at High Pressures.  Proc. Roy. Soc. (London), vol. 134, A, 1932, pp. 591-604; Chem. Abs., vol. 26, 1932, p. 2697.

        In the slow combustion of CH₄ at high pressures, considerable quantities of the primary product, MeOH, survive and can be isolated.  As combustion proceeds in an 8:1 CH₄+O₂ mixture, the rate of formation of MeOH increases with the CH₄:O₂ ratio until a point is reached when the concentration of steam and CO in the products begin to exert a retarding effect.  At any particular pressure there is a definite temperature at which optimum amounts of MeOH and HCHO survive.  The effect of increasing pressure is not only to increase the amounts of both products surviving, but also to increase the ratio MeOH:HCHO.  The oxidation of CH₄, under the experimental conditions described is mainly a surface effect and is characterized by a marked induction period.