Methanol research funded

The University of Virginia will build an $11 Million center to develop technologies for converting methane gas and other hydrocarbon and fossil resources into readily transportable and higher-value liquid fuels.

Monies for the project come from a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, and is one of 46 new multi-million-dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers being funded by the Department of Energy, according to a university press release. The 46 centers were selected for funding from a pool of 260 applications. Each will be funded at $2 million to $5 million per year for an initial five-year period.
www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=8539

The University of Virginia Center for Catalytic Hydrocarbon Functionalization will find catalysts that allow the conversion of methane into liquid fuels, including the reaction of methane and oxygen into methanol, which, if accomplished, would have the potential to greatly augment gasoline as a more environmentally friendly fuel, according to the university statement.

“From a global perspective, energy demand is increasing each year and it is imperative that we develop alternative sources of energy that are economically viable and less harmful to the environment,” UV chemistry professor Brent Gunnoe, who will head the multi-institutional center, noted in the statement.

Details of the university project include:
• Gunnoe said that large-scale use of methane as a fuel could substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions if used to supplant coal and petroleum. “Methane burns much cleaner than gasoline, producing less carbon dioxide, and it would be economically viable for broader use if we can solve the chemistry problems that would allow conversion to liquid fuels.”

• Gunnoe: “If we can find new technologies that will allow the large-scale utilization of methane, particularly in the transportation sector, the U.S. could very quickly supplant our use of petroleum and greatly reduce our dependence on foreign petroleum.”

• Methanol, if produced in massive quantities, could be mixed with gasoline like current ethanol/gasoline formulas, and therefore would not require changes to the way motor vehicle engines are designed. And current "flex fuel" engines that run on 85 percent ethanol with 15 percent gasoline still could run on an 85/15 mix of methanol/gasoline.

• Methanol is preferable to ethanol because it would consume less gasoline in its production and would curb U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Also, ethanol is made from corn, which requires large-scale farming to divert an otherwise inexpensive food source toward fuel needs, thereby driving up food prices.

• There are many other uses for methanol, including, potentially, fuel cells that would generate electricity, and methanol-powered laptop computers. Methanol also can be converted to ethylene and propylene, which are used to make a variety of plastics.