This new methane conversion innovation could be huge for shale

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Brookhaven National Laboratory and scientists from several collaborating institutions have designed a highly selective catalyst that can convert methane to methanol in a single reaction, in a single step, at a temperature lower than that needed to make tea. This discovery marks a big step forward from more complex traditional conversions, which typically require three separate reactions, running at much higher temperatures. On an industrial scale, the system’s simplicity could mark a breakthrough in exploiting “failed” natural gas reserves in isolated rural areas, far from chemical refineries and other expensive infrastructure, says Brookhaven chemist and study co-author Sanjaya Senanayake. Such local deployments would eliminate the need to transport flammable, high-pressure liquefied natural gas. According to the scientists, such local deployments would eliminate the need to transport flammable, high-pressure liquefied natural gas. Methane is a the major component of natural gas and a strong greenhouse gas, while methanol is used as an alternative biofuel for internal combustion and other engines. “We could scale up this technology and deploy it locally to produce methanol that can be used to make fuel, electricity and chemicals,Senanayake said.

Brookhaven Science Associates, which manages Brookhaven Lab on behalf of the DOE, and the University of Udine have filed a patent cooperative treaty application on the use of the catalyst for one-step methane conversion and are exploring ways to work with entrepreneurial partners to bring the technology . at the market. This discovery builds on the results of previous studies with the new catalyst recipe containing an additional ingredient: a thin layer of “interfacial” carbon between the metal and the oxide. Related: U.S. crude, product inventories show series of clean draws

“Carbon is often overlooked as a catalyst. But in this study, we did a series of experiments and theoretical work that revealed that a thin layer of carbon between palladium and cerium oxide really drove the chemistry. It was almost the secret sauce. It helps the active metal, palladium, to convert methane into methanol,” said chemical engineer Juan Jimenez, a Goldhaber postdoctoral fellow in Brookhaven Lab’s chemistry division and lead author of the paper published in Journal of the American Chemical Society.

Also known as wood alcohol, methanol (CH3OH) is considered an alternative fuel according to Energy Policy Act of 1992 with ethanol-like chemical and physical fuel properties. Methanol was used in the 1990s as an alternative fuel for compatible vehicles; however, current research is mainly focused on its potential use as a sustainable marine fuel.

Reducing methane emissions

It is too early to determine the scalability and economic viability of single-step catalytic conversion technology. However, if successful, it could prove useful in helping the US shale play clean up its act by reducing methane emissions.

The US oil and gas sector is producing 8 times the amount of methane that many operators have pledged to achieve by 2030 to meet their climate goals, a new Environmental Defense Fund study recently revealed non-profit. The environmental advocacy group conducted ~30 flights between June and October 2023, covering oil and gas basins that account for nearly three-quarters of terrestrial production. The data collected showed that, on average, about 1.6% of gross gas production is released as methane into the atmosphere, about eight times more than promised by producers under Oil and Gas Climate Initiative and the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter.

Over the past two decades, atmospheric methane concentrations have risen sharply, from 1,700 parts per billion (ppb) in 1990 to 1,930 ppb today. Although methane is much less abundant in the atmosphere compared to CO2, it is still capable of causing much damage at even lower concentrations, due to the fact that it is over 80 times more potent at warming the earth than CO2 over a 20-year period and 28 times stronger at 100- calendar year. The fossil fuel sector has been a major contributor to the rapid accumulation of methane in the atmosphere, with emissions from venting, leaking and burning in the oil and gas sector currently estimated to be responsible for ~25% of global anthropogenic methane emissions. A single gas leak can be quite devastating: Last year, the environmental intelligence firm Kayros SAS deployed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) to quantify a gas pipe next door Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE:WMB) spewed about 840 metric tons of methane into the atmosphere after an Idaho farmer accidentally ruptured it while using an excavator. Currently used for weather forecasting, scientists recently found that GOES is effective at detection of large methane emissions of about tens of metric tons per hour or higher.

Last year, the US pipeline regulator revealed new rules aimed at reducing methane leaks from the nation’s vast network of 2.7 million miles of natural gas pipelines. The proposal could “significantly improve the detection and repair of gas pipeline leaks…deploy pipeline workers across the country to keep more product in the pipeline and prevent dangerous accidents,” said the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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