Researchers have developed a climate-friendly process to convert natural gas into metal
The U.S. Department of Energy gave a large financial nod to an innovative use of converted natural gas when it recently awarded engineers at Rice University a $3.3 million federal grant for a concept aimed at easing climate change.
The grant, which went to chemical and biomolecular engineer Matteo Pasquali and his colleagues, will be used to develop a method to convert natural gas into carbon nanotubes as a potential replacement for metals.
The goal of the conversion is to displace metals in large-scale applications to reduce the energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions associated with metal production, according to a Rice University news release. The process would also produce valuable hydrogen as a side product that could be used to offset the energy costs of making the material or to serve as an energy source for transportation.
The Rice-led team will convert methane into carbon nanotubes, spin them into fibers that look like cotton thread but perform like metal wires, and evaluate their performance and properties.
The project will lay a foundation to understand whether and how the conversion of natural gas into carbon nanotube materials can be scaled into a large-volume, economical process that could displace metals and other energy-inefficient materials at the level of hundreds of megatons per year, Pasquali said. If successful, the displacement would yield large reductions in carbon dioxide emissions while also generating economic growth and adding value to natural gas resources, he said.