ORNL’s VISION instrument supports development of liquid methanol production from methane

In the UK, international team of researchers has developed a fast and economical method of converting methane, commonly called natural gas, into liquid methanol at ambient temperature and pressure. The approach uses visible light to drive the conversion in a continuous flow across a photocatalytic material. The research was led by scientists at the University of Manchester.

To help observe how the process works and how selective it is, the researchers used neutron scattering at the VISION instrument at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source.