Research summary
When oil is pumped from deep reservoirs, dissolved methane separates from the oil and becomes a gas. This methane is usually vented or flared because it has little value in remote regions and recovering it can be expensive. (Flaring refers to controlled burning.) This not only contributes to climate change, but emits toxic compounds like sulphur and heavy metals, including mercury.
As Canada Research Chair in High-Temperature, High-Pressure Heterogeneous Catalysis, Dr. Gregory Patience aims to introduce a fundamental change in reactor technology to convert wasted natural gas to green fuel. He and his research team are designing pilot plant facilities to demonstrate technologies that are economical at this scale. A key step will be to maximize product yield using an electrically heated radial catalytic reactor that minimizes capital costs. Ultimately, they hope to develop catalysis synthesis processes that can be used in larger-scale commercialization.