Research Collaboration Reveals Conversion Process of Natural Gas into Methanol
LEUVEN, Belgium – A collaboration between scientists at KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Belgium, and Stanford University has revealed the mechanism behind the direct conversion process of natural gas into methanol at room temperature. This discovery will have major consequences for the future use of methanol in various everyday applications. The findings were published in Nature.
Methanol is among the 20 most commonly used substances in the chemical industry. It’s used to produce antifreeze, fuels, solvents and various kinds of plastic. The substance is made from natural gas (methane). The large-scale conversion of methane into methanol currently involves various steps under high pressure and at a high temperature, making it a process that requires a lot of energy.