Technologies Available for License
Category: energy
2022-009: Direct Catalytic Conversion of Natural Gas to Liquid Fuel
Invention: 2022-009
Patent Status: PCT filed on October 9, 2023
For technical and licensing related questions, email tcp@bnl.gov.
Summary
The conversion of natural gas to liquid fuels is a central challenge to the catalysis industry at large that remains to be addressed. Specifically, improved methods for the conversion of methane (CH4), the principal component of natural gas, into a liquid fuel, such as methanol (CH3OH), are needed. BNL and Università di Udine researchers developed an improved method of converting methane to methanol (MtM) that would enable the direct conversion of methane to methanol, a top commodity chemical.
Description
The method of converting methane to methanol, includes heating a reaction mixture including methane, hydrogen peroxide, and a dry milled catalyst. The catalyst utilizes a milled ceria support that promotes higher catalytic activity for various methane containing reactions and shows excellent stability under rigorous reaction conditions. The milled ceria support material is generally loaded with some weight percent of another metal, such that MxCeO2 (M=Pd, Rh, Ru, Ni, Co; x=0.001-0.1).
Benefits
The ball milled catalyst used to generate methanol is highly stable and active under rigorous reaction conditions. All gas and liquid phase sampling after reaction is carried out at <10°C to maximize methanol production. Furthermore, at the optimal reaction conditions the formation of undesirable CO2 is considerably diminished.
Applications and Industries
This invention allows for the direct conversion of methane, which is often flared or discarded, and presents a novel avenue for the generation of methanol, a top 10 global commodity chemical.
Journal Publication & Intellectual Property
- Tuning the hydrogenation of CO2 to CH4 over mechano-chemically prepared palladium supported on ceria (.pdf)
- From Methane to Methanol: Pd-iC-CeO2 Catalysts Engineered for High Selectivity via Mechanochemical Synthesis (.pdf)
- WO 2024/079594 A1 (.pdf)
- Catalyst for 'One-Step' Conversion of Methane to Methanol (.pdf)
Contacts
-
Poornima Upadhya
Manager Technology Transfer & Commercialization
Technology Commercialization
(631) 344-4711, pupadhya@bnl.gov
-
Avijit Sen
IP Licensing & Commercialization
Technology Commercialization
(631) 344-3752, asen@bnl.gov