Unveiling the mysteries behind methane conversion processes
Methane, a by-product of hydrofracturing and a significant greenhouse gas, is often burned off to avoid pollution, resulting in approximately $16 billion of value loss annually. However, a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh is working on a groundbreaking solution to this problem.
Giannis Mpourmpakis, a Bicentennial Alumni Faculty Fellow and associate professor of chemical and petroleum engineering at Pitt's Swanson School of Engineering, is leading the research. Mpourmpakis heads the Computer-Aided Nano and Energy Lab (CANELa) at Pitt.
The team recently received a $110,000 grant from the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund to explore the possibility of using light to convert methane on-site into valuable chemicals. This research aims to reduce methane loss and waste, and could potentially advance shale gas utilization.
The cost to store and transport methane is high due to its production in rural and isolated areas. Traditional thermal catalytic conversion of methane to value-added fuels and chemicals is energy demanding and cost-prohibitive at fracking sites. The integration of photocatalysis with traditional thermal catalysis offers a promising solution.
Research has identified metal-oxide photocatalysts that can convert methane under mild conditions by photoactivating C-H bonds with visible or near-ultraviolet illumination. The atomic-level mechanisms of this conversion process are not clearly understood, but the grant will allow Mpourmpakis' lab to develop a more robust understanding of photocatalysis and the mechanisms necessary to convert methane.
Methane is valuable in the petrochemical industry as both a fuel and feedstock. Capturing methane and immediately converting it into a fuel or value-added chemical would reduce its environmental impact and enhance its industrial use.
Traditional lab experimentation would result in costly trial and error, but computational modeling can simulate catalytic processes and test numerous potential catalysts and their reactions rapidly and at a lower cost. This approach is crucial to the success of the research.
Mpourmpakis states that the goal is to convert methane into a valuable resource using photocatalysis and light as an energy source. If successful, this research could revolutionize the way methane is handled in the petrochemical industry.
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