{"id":230226,"date":"2026-03-02T14:25:32","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T00:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=230226"},"modified":"2026-03-02T14:25:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T00:25:32","slug":"new-way-to-turn-methane-into-valuable-chemicals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/02\/new-way-to-turn-methane-into-valuable-chemicals\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa chemists unlock new way to turn methane into valuable chemicals"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Molecular
The molecular beam machine incorporating the catalytic microreactor at the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Researchers at the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s Department of Chemistry<\/a> have developed a new step-by-step chemical process that converts methane, the primary component of natural gas, into valuable chemicals.<\/p>\n

Because the catalyst (a substance that speeds up chemical reactions) for this process is made from common, widely available elements instead of costly precious metals like palladium, it could be a more affordable option for large-scale use.<\/p>\n

By allowing methane to be converted at lower temperatures, the research opens the door to cleaner and more efficient ways to use one of the world\u2019s most abundant energy resources.<\/p>\n

Abundant but difficult<\/h2>\n

Methane is abundant but difficult to transform because of its strong carbon-hydrogen bonds. In the gas phase, breaking these bonds usually requires temperatures near 1,500 Kelvin (about 2,240°F<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

Additionally, most methods rely on oxygen, which can generate unwanted carbon dioxide and reduce overall efficiency. The new pathway overcomes both challenges.<\/p>\n

The team developed a way to transform methane at much lower temperatures without using oxygen. Instead of burning the methane, their method links two methane molecules together to form ethylene, a key ingredient used to make everyday products such as plastics and other industrial materials.<\/p>\n

Using a catalyst made of titanium, aluminum and boron, the researchers were able to get methane to react at about 800 Kelvin, about 1,260°F<\/abbr> lower than what would normally be needed.<\/p>\n

As the temperature increased, the process produced more ethylene.<\/p>\n

“Our goal was to find a cleaner, more efficient way to use methane,” Department of Chemistry Professor Ralf I. Kaiser said. “By lowering the temperature and avoiding oxygen, we\u2019ve opened a new pathway that could make methane upgrading more practical.”<\/p>\n

The UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa team worked collaboration with the research groups of Musahid Ahmed (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), Professor Anastassia Alexandrova (University of California, Los Angeles) and Albert Epshteyn (U.S.<\/abbr> Naval Research Laboratory).<\/p>\n

The experiments were performed at the Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory utilizing a catalytic microreactor coupled to a synchrotron single-photon photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The new discovery could change how methane is used worldwide, overcoming previous challenges for conversion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":230230,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[251,308,1467,1363,9],"class_list":["post-230226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-chemistry","tag-college-of-natural-sciences","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t