Methane reducing agent

The title reaction may be accomplished by using various reducing agents. Thus benzyl a, a-dichlorobenzyl sulphoxide 496 was reduced to a mixture of diastereoisomeric benzyl a-chlorobenzyl sulphoxides 497 by means of (Me2N)3P/EtjN in aqueous solvent, BujSnH, Ph3P/Et3N in methanol and CrCl (equation 301). Similarly, dichloro-bis(phenylsulphinyl)methane is reduced to the corresponding monochloro derivative . ... 

Methane has also been used as the reducing agent in the catalytic conversion of NO to N2 over Co-ZSM-5 zeolites [75] in the presence of oxygen. The high NO conversions (>70%) were achieved by microwave irradiation at 250-400 °C, whereas under similar conditions thermal runs failed to convert either NO or methane in significant amounts. The high activity and selectivity of the reduction of NO by methane achieved with microwave irradiation was probably because of the activation of methane to form methyl radicals at relatively low reaction temperatures. 

The oxidation number of carbon increases from -4 to -2. The carbon atoms on the reactant side exist in methane molecules, CH4(g), so methane is oxidized. Therefore, methane is the reducing agent. 

Mn02 also is reduced to Mn20s at 300°C in the presence of a reducing agent such as hydrogen, methane or carhon. 

For our unknown piperidine the other product is a penta-1,4-diene, the constitution of which can now identified by ozonolysis (in the presence of a reducing agent such as Zn dust, or triphenylphosphine, to prevent the oxidation of the ozonolysis fragments). Here ozonolysis will yield formaldehyde (methanal) (an indication that C-6 is unsubstituted) plus another aldehyde, XCHO (showing that C-2 bears the group X). The other product is a propanedial in which the groups Y and Z must occupy the central carbon. Clearly then, C-4 is substituted by both Y and Z. 

Some species are also able to utilize formate or formaldehyde as reducing agents.435 These compounds are oxidized to C02, the reducing equivalents formed being used to reduce C02 to methane. Carbon monoxide can also be converted to C02. 

Because water is the cheapest and most readily available source of hydrogen, all large-scale, industrial methods for producing hydrogen use an inexpensive reducing agent such as hot iron, carbon, or methane (natural gas) to extract the oxygen from steam ... 

The reducing agent is CH4. The reactant methane gas is the reducing agent because it contains the species being oxidized. 

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