Catalyst improves methane combustion performance

According to a statement, the discovery offers a way to more completely exploit energy from methane, potentially reducing emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas from vehicles that run on natural gas. The catalyst may also offer a cleaner and cheaper way of generating energy from catalytic combustion in gas turbines.

‘It’s hard to come up with materials that are active enough and stable enough to withstand the harsh conditions of methane combustion,’ said Raymond J Gorte, the Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer professor in the University’s department of chemical and biomolecular engineering. ‘Our materials look promising for some important applications.’

Catalysts that are currently available to burn methane do not do so completely, leaving unburned methane to escape into the atmosphere.

‘Particularly if you have a natural-gas engine, methane is going to be a major part of that tailpipe exhaust,’ Gorte said.

In addition, these conventional catalysts can require high temperatures of 600°C to 700°C to encourage reactions. Yet the catalysts themselves often lose their efficiency or deactivate when exposed to the high temperatures generated by methane combustion.