Catalyst can control methane emissions in natural gas engines

A catalyst using a single or just a few palladium atoms removed 90% of unburned methane from natural gas engine exhaust at low temperatures in a recent study. While more research needs to be done, the advance in single atom catalysis has the potential to lower exhaust emissions of methane, one of the worst greenhouse gases that traps heat at about 25 times the rate of carbon dioxide. Researchers showed that the single-atom catalyst was able to remove methane from engine exhaust at lower temperatures, less than 350 degrees Celsius (662 degrees Fahrenheit), while maintaining reaction stability at higher temperatures.

from Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/GpnIAWr