by In a significant breakthrough, scientists from Cardiff University and an international team of collaborators have developed a more sustainable method for creating methanol, a crucial component of fuels, plastics, and medicines. The process involves using a highly active catalyst to convert oxygen and natural gas methane into methanol at room temperature, eliminating the need for external energy sources such as light or electricity.
This groundbreaking research builds on the efforts of the Cardiff team to develop new catalytic methods in collaboration with industry, aiming to move away from expensive and energy-intensive processes. By promoting the use of catalysis as a sustainable technology in the 21st century, the scientists are paving the way for cleaner and greener methanol production.
The findings of this study, titled “H2-reduced phosphomolybdate promotes room-temperature aerobic oxidation of methane to methanol” and published in Nature Catalysis, represent a significant step toward achieving cleaner methanol production on an industrial scale. With further development, this method could potentially be utilized in industrial processes worldwide.
Professor Graham Hutchings, Regius Professor of Chemistry at Cardiff University and a collaborating author on the paper, emphasized the importance of discovering new and effective catalysts for methanol synthesis from methane. These catalysts play a crucial role in providing new pathways for the modern chemical industry.
The study is the result of an international collaboration between the Max Planck Center on the Fundamentals of Heterogeneous Catalysis, the newly established Net Zero Innovation Institute at Cardiff University, and institutions overseas. Working in state-of-the-art labs at Cardiff University’s Translational Research Hub, the team leveraged their expertise in catalyst design and advanced characterization techniques. This knowledge was instrumental in understanding how the catalyst operates and how its lifetime can be extended.
Co-author Dr. Andrea Folli, University Research Fellow in Electrocatalysis at the Net Zero Innovation Institute, emphasized that this discovery could be a significant step toward achieving a sustainable methanol-based fuel economy. By using abundant methane as the feedstock, this method not only offers potential for a greener energy source but also presents opportunities for establishing a circular economy involving a critical greenhouse gas.
The global warming potential of methane is 25 times that of carbon dioxide, making this breakthrough even more crucial in the pursuit of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. By developing a sustainable method for methanol production, scientists are contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable future.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
