I-Corps: Modular electrolyzers to transform methane to liquids

Cornell University, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of modular electrolyzers that transform distributed methane emissions from an environmental liability to a feedstock for chemical products. With almost 80 times the warming potential of CO2, methane is a short-lived climate force that disproportionally impacts climate change in the near term. Methane emissions from large, centralized sources (e.g., refineries) can be processed with established methane-to-liquids (MTL) plants. However, scaling down conventional MTL plants for distributed methane sources is not viable economically. The development of modular systems that may be deployed to mitigate emissions from more distributed sources (e.g., landfills or abandoned gas wells) addresses an important unmet need in the effort to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed technology is aimed at converting waste methane to value-added chemicals at ambient conditions and may provide economic advantage for customers and environmental/societal benefit by reducing emissions that would otherwise contribute to climate change. The commercialization potential of electrochemical methane conversion may provide important guidance toward effective technology development to address the grand challenge of methane emissions reduction. This I-Corps project is based on the development of modular methane-to-liquid electrolyzers. Drawing on inspiration from methane-eating bacteria, the proposed technology development will leverage recent advances in additive manufacturing and nanostructured materials to create programmable reaction environments optimized for forming and separating methanol. The proposed technology focuses on converting methane to value-added products like methanol at ambient temperature and pressure using pulsed potential electrocatalysis (PPC). In this system, a pulsed voltage or a pulsed light source is applied to a catalyst that activates and converts methane to value-added products. Preliminary results show that pulsing a catalyst with voltage or light stimulus enables control over surface reaction processes. Controlling surface reaction processes enables enhancement of methane conversion activity and selectivity of the final, valorized product. In addition, it may be possible to tailor the pulse profile to match a specific inflow gas composition and control the composition of the final value-added product. The proposed electrochemical conversion affords the usage of modular reactors that may operate at different methane in-flow conditions. Current methane conversion technologies such as steam methane reforming require heavy infrastructure, high capital costs, and usage at large scales, however, the proposed modular, pulsed electrochemical reactors have the potential to work at more moderate methane in-flow scales. This presents a competitive advantage for modular, electrochemical reactors because typical methane flare sites operate at small, distributed scales that are often unsuitable for large-scale steam methane reforming. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.