04-May-2021

Lightning bolts break apart nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the atmosphere and create reactive chemicals that affect greenhouse gases. Now, a team of atmospheric chemists and lightning scientists have found that lightning bolts and, surprisingly, subvisible discharges that cannot be seen by ...

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Lakes as huge energy stores

02-Apr-2021

Lakes store huge amounts of methane. In a new study, environmental scientists at the University of Basel offer suggestions for how it can be extracted and used as an energy source in the form of methanol. Discussion about the current climate crisis usually focuses on carbon dioxide (CO2). The ...

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Water enables mild oxidation of methane to methanol on gold single-atom catalysts

09-Mar-2021

Advances in hydraulic fracturing technology have enabled discovery of large reserves of natural gas which primarily contains methane, which is mainly burned directly and causing global warming potentially. Upgrading methane to greener energy such as methanol through aerobic oxidation is an ideal ...

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Catalyst nanoparticles trap an unprecedented range of wavelengths of light to convert carbon dioxide into methane.

05-Mar-2021

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is a major driver of global warming, but this gas could also serve as a valuable resource. Researchers at KAUST have developed an efficient catalyst that uses light energy to convert CO2 and hydrogen into methane (CH4). This counteracts the release of CO2 when ...

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Nature-inspired photocatalysis

04-Feb-2021

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major greenhouse gases causing global warming. If carbon dioxide could be converted into energy, it would be killing two birds with one stone in addressing the environmental issues. A joint research team led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed ...

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Lowering the combustion temperature for methane

14-Jan-2021

Reza Shahbazian-Yassar, professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at the University of Illinois Chicago and colleagues facilitated the development of a cutting edge "Swiss Army knife" catalyst made up of 10 different elements - each of which on its own has the ability to reduce the ...

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"Significant breakthrough" simplifies processing of gaseous, low-weight hydrocarbons in industry

07-Jul-2020

In industry, gaseous hydrocarbons, such as ethane and methane, are frequently changed into molecules that can act as building blocks for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Typically, these processes take place at high temperatures and pressures, and can also produce large amounts of pollutants. ...

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08-Apr-2020

There is one major challenge in converting our energy system to purely renewable energy sources: winter – or rather the supply gap at this time. The conversion of surplus summer electricity into synthetic gas offers a way of ensuring that renewable energy could be available in sufficient ...

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02-Apr-2020

At nova-Institute’s first online conferences on PtX and Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU), 50 speakers presented and discussed the future of aviation fuels and carbon dioxide as feedstock! In the face of the current crisis, nova-Institute decided to defy the circumstances and found a new ...

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02-Mar-2020

A new method developed by a team of Waseda University scientists led by Professor Yasushi Sekine may contribute to reducing the use of fossil fuels and help prevent global warming in the long-run. The conversion of carbon dioxide to valuable chemicals such as methane has drawn great attention for ...

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