Patent ID: 8202916

Claim:
A method comprising: heating a hydrocarbon-containing gas to a first temperature to form a heated hydrocarbon-containing as and supplying the heated hydrocarbon-containing gas into a reactor; supplying into the reactor at a first point an oxygen-containing gas to oxidize the heated hydrocarbon-containing gas to produce a reaction mixture comprising methanol and formaldehyde; thereafter inhibiting the decomposition of formaldehyde by supplying a hydrocarbon-containing gas at a second temperature into the reactor at a second point downstream of the first point to be mixed directly with the reaction mixture, the second temperature being less than the first temperature wherein formation of methanol and formaldehyde is substantially completed at the second point; and transferring heat from a resulting product stream compromising methanol and formaldehyde to the hydrocarbon-containing gas to heat the hydrocarbon-containing gas.