The invention belongs to the technical field of catalytic conversion of
natural gas, and particularly relates to a method for synthesizing
methanol by continuously oxidizing
methane through photo-thermal
catalysis, which comprises the following steps: by taking a ZnO-loaded
transition metal oxide as a catalyst and
oxygen as an oxidant, continuously and efficiently oxidizing
methane to synthesize
methanol under normal pressure in cooperation with
light energy and
heat energy, the method comprises the following specific steps: step 1, loading a catalyst into a
fixed bed reactor, introducing
nitrogen under a normal pressure condition, and carrying out programmed heating to a
reaction temperature; and 2, after the
reaction temperature is stable, closing the
nitrogen, introducing reaction gases CH4, O2 and H2O (g), and turning on the
light source for reaction. According to the method, the
methanol is synthesized by continuously and efficiently oxidizing
methane under the normal-pressure condition through cooperation of
light energy and
heat energy, the technological process is simple, the method is suitable for
continuous operation, and the catalyst is low in preparation cost, excellent in catalytic performance, high in methanol selectivity and high in industrial application value; the reaction is carried out under the normal pressure condition, so that the safety problem caused by high-pressure reaction is avoided.