Design a catalyst for natural gas vehicles

What is it about?

Natural gas is very attractive fuel as it generally contains low levels of pollutants such as nitrogen or sulfur-containing compounds and given the low carbon to hydrogen ratio, there is minimal CO2 formed for the energy produced [7].The main challenge with NGV is the methane slip (release of un-combusted methane in the after-treatment) given its greenhouse gas potential any emissions of un-combusted methane is a source of environmental damage i.e. methane has 20 times the impact of CO2 [8]. Therefore methane emissions need to be controlled in order to improve both energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

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Why is it important?

Climate change and air pollution due to the combustion of carbon-based non-renewable resources for transportation and electricity production are two major global challenges. Methane is the primary component in natural gas which is the world’s fastest growing energy source, by 2040, it is expected that natural gas will overtake coal, driven by the need for cleaner, reliable fuel and rise into second place after oil among energy sources [1, 2]. Importantly methane is also available from renewable sources such as anaerobic digestion of waste matter. Its utilisation as a fuel and chemical feedstock, therefore, offers an efficient use of a readily available renewable hydrocarbon resource. However, the C-H bond enthalpy for methane is 439.3 kJ/mol [3], which is the strongest aliphatic C-H bonds among hydrocarbons [4].

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