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Article: How to liquefy your assets. (methane conversion methods)
- Article from:
- Chemistry and Industry
- Article date:
- May 1, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Society of Chemical Industry. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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How to liquefy your assets
Natural gas is one of the world's major fossil fuels and one of the most undervalued. As Dr. Norman Parkyns of British Gas explained to delegates at the Royal Society of Chemistry's annual congress in Hull last month, the gas occurs in remote areas like Alaska and Siberia, and transporting it by pipeline or as liquified natural gas by tanker is expensive.
The most scientifically challenging problem facing chemists who work in catalysis is how to convert the gas' main constituent, methane, into liquids such as methanol and the higher hydrocarbons which can be transported more cheaply. Methane is highly unreactive and is the ...