This article is concerned with the reforming of methane to synthesis gas; a review of the steam reforming Rxn is presented, and the dry reforming and partial oxidation Rxns introduced. Collectively, these processes are known as “oxyforming.” A background to oxyforming, industrial practice, and some of the most important latest developments will be presented, along with a section on the uses of synthesis gas. The current understanding of the Rxn mechanisms for the three processes and the problem of deactivation by carbon deposition will be discussed in detail. Finally, the economics of synfuel production will be addressed and compared with the production of other fuels, and the future directions and outlook for oxyforming will be forwarded. This article should allow the reader to make comparisons between these three important industrial reactions.

The preparation of WC encapsulated within 2H-WS₂ inorganic fullerene-like (IF) cages by sulfidisation is described; the encapsulates were prepared from both high surface area (high S_g) and low surface area (low S_g) WC precursors; for low S_g WC, partial conversion of the carbide to the sulfide only was achieved with 2–20 IF layers obtained around carbide particles, resulting in WC/2H-WS₂ composites; the amount of conversion obtained in the case of the high S_g WC depended on the method of preparation of the precursor; total conversion to 2H-WS₂ was obtained from a precursor obtained by carburisation of small WO₃ particles, while only partial conversion was obtained in the instance of high S_g WC prepared from ball-milled low S_g WC.

The present work is focused on the effect of water on NH₃ adsorption over Cu-CHA SCR catalysts. For this purpose, samples characterized by different SAR (SiO₂/Al₂O₃) ratios and Cu loadings were studied under both dry and wet conditions. H₂O adversely affects NH₃ adsorption on Lewis acid sites (Cu ions) over all the tested catalysts, as indicated by the decreased NH₃ desorption at low temperature during TPD. Interestingly, the NH₃/Cu ratio, herein regarded as an index for the speciation of Cu cations, fell in the range of 3–4 (in the presence of gaseous NH₃) or 1–2 (no gaseous NH₃) in dry conditions, in line with the formation of different NH₃-solvated Cu species (e.g., [Cu^II(NH₃)₄]²⁺ and [Cu^II(OH)(NH₃)₃]⁺ with gaseous NH₃, [Z₂Cu^II(NH₃)₂]²⁺ and [ZCu^II(OH)(NH₃)]⁺ without gaseous NH₃). When H₂O was fed to the system, on the contrary, the NH₃/Cu ratio was always close to 3 (or 1), while the Brønsted acidity was slightly increased. These results are consistent both with competition between H₂O and NH₃ for adsorption on Lewis sites and with the hydrolysis of a fraction of Z₂Cu^II species into ZCu^IIOH.

The controlled oxidation with CO₂ of both high surface area (high S_g) and low surface area WC to form WO_3–x needles, has been observed in situ, inside a controlled environment transmission electron microscope (CETEM), and also ex situ, in a standard flow reactor; the tungsten oxide needles, which consist mainly of distorted γ-WO_2.72, propagate in an epitaxial fashion from the (10 0) and (01 0) surfaces of the parent WC crystals; possible mechanisms for the formation of the needles are proposed.