This New Methane Conversion Innovation Could Be Huge for Shale

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and scientists at several collaborating institutions have engineered a highly selective catalyst that can convert methane into methanol in a single, one-step reaction at a temperature lower than required to make tea. This discovery marks a big step forward over more complex traditional conversions that typically require three separate reactions, running at vastly higher temperatures. On an industrial scale, the simplicity of the system could mark a breakthrough in tapping…