Chinese researchers propose catalytic approach to produce biogas straight from biomass

In China, natural gas can be used as fuel for generating electricity, heating and powering transportation. It is also the raw material to manufacture hydrogen and ammonia.

Currently, biogenic and thermogenic processes are the two widely accepted methods for natural gas production. Whereas high content of CO2 in gas products is inevitable during these processes, which cannot satisfy the composition requirements of pipeline natural gas.

A research group from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) proposed an efficient catalytic approach to directly transfer solid biomass into natural gas with low carbon footprint.

This study was published in Nature Communications on January 11.

The researchers prepared a robust catalyst with Ni2Al3 alloy phase, achieving nearly complete conversion of various agricultural and forestry to natural gas. In the conversion process, the total carbon yield of gas products reached up to 93% after several hours, and the catalyst showed powerful processing capability for the production of natural gas during 30 cycles.