UH Mānoa chemists unlock new method to flip methane into priceless chemical compounds

Researchers on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Department of Chemistry have developed a brand new step-by-step chemical course of that converts methane, the first element of pure gasoline, into priceless chemical compounds.

Because the catalyst (a substance that hastens chemical reactions) for this course of is constituted of widespread, broadly out there components as a substitute of pricey valuable metals like palladium, it could possibly be a extra reasonably priced possibility for large-scale use.

By permitting methane to be transformed at decrease temperatures, the analysis opens the door to cleaner and extra environment friendly methods to make use of one of many world’s most ample vitality assets.

Abundant however troublesome

Methane is ample however troublesome to rework due to its sturdy carbon-hydrogen bonds. In the gasoline part, breaking these bonds often requires temperatures close to 1,500 Kelvin (about 2,240°F).

Additionally, most strategies depend on oxygen, which might generate undesirable carbon dioxide and cut back total effectivity. The new pathway overcomes each challenges.

The workforce developed a method to rework methane at a lot decrease temperatures with out utilizing oxygen. Instead of burning the methane, their technique hyperlinks two methane molecules collectively to kind ethylene, a key ingredient used to make on a regular basis merchandise resembling plastics and different industrial supplies.

Using a catalyst fabricated from titanium, aluminum and boron, the researchers had been in a position to get methane to react at about 800 Kelvin, about 1,260°F decrease than what would usually be wanted.

As the temperature elevated, the method produced extra ethylene.

“Our goal was to find a cleaner, more efficient way to use methane,” Department of Chemistry Professor Ralf I. Kaiser stated. “By lowering the temperature and avoiding oxygen, we’ve opened a new pathway that could make methane upgrading more practical.”

The UH Mānoa workforce labored collaboration with the analysis teams of Musahid Ahmed (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), Professor Anastassia Alexandrova (University of California, Los Angeles) and Albert Epshteyn (U.S. Naval Research Laboratory).

The experiments had been carried out on the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory using a catalytic microreactor coupled to a synchrotron single-photon photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer.