Pub Date : 2025-02-12DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00182-1
Zhenhua Xie, Erwei Huang, Kevin K. Turaczy, Samay Garg, Sooyeon Hwang, Prabhakar Reddy Kasala, Ping Liu, Jingguang G. Chen
Upgrading decentralized biogas represents a sustainable route to produce valuable products while mitigating two potent greenhouse gases, namely, methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Conventional dry reforming of CH4 with CO2 yields syngas with low H2/CO ratios (≤1) and requires high temperatures (>800 °C) to overcome equilibrium constraints and abate coke deposition, which limits commercial implementation. Here we demonstrate the conversion of biogas into value-added carbon nanofibers via reaction integration in tandem reactors, while reducing the reaction temperature, shifting equilibrium limits and yielding H2-enriched syngas (H2/CO = 2–3) as a byproduct. Experimental and theoretical insights reveal that potassium (K) modification enhances carbon nanofiber formation due to synergistic effects via a balanced interplay between KOx-induced cobalt facets and cobalt carbide species. The energy cost and CO2 footprint analyses highlight the potential advantages of tandem processes for the sustainable upgrading of biogas into valuable solid carbon products. Upgrading biogas to valuable solid carbon can potentially lead to negative CO2 emissions with long-term carbon storage but faces substantial thermodynamic and kinetic limits using a single reactor. Tandem strategies can decouple reactions into tandem reactors, integrate non-equilibrium processes and identify synergistic catalytic sites to enhance carbon nanofiber production.
{"title":"Biogas sequestration to carbon nanofibers via tandem catalytic strategies","authors":"Zhenhua Xie, Erwei Huang, Kevin K. Turaczy, Samay Garg, Sooyeon Hwang, Prabhakar Reddy Kasala, Ping Liu, Jingguang G. Chen","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00182-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00182-1","url":null,"abstract":"Upgrading decentralized biogas represents a sustainable route to produce valuable products while mitigating two potent greenhouse gases, namely, methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Conventional dry reforming of CH4 with CO2 yields syngas with low H2/CO ratios (≤1) and requires high temperatures (>800 °C) to overcome equilibrium constraints and abate coke deposition, which limits commercial implementation. Here we demonstrate the conversion of biogas into value-added carbon nanofibers via reaction integration in tandem reactors, while reducing the reaction temperature, shifting equilibrium limits and yielding H2-enriched syngas (H2/CO = 2–3) as a byproduct. Experimental and theoretical insights reveal that potassium (K) modification enhances carbon nanofiber formation due to synergistic effects via a balanced interplay between KOx-induced cobalt facets and cobalt carbide species. The energy cost and CO2 footprint analyses highlight the potential advantages of tandem processes for the sustainable upgrading of biogas into valuable solid carbon products. Upgrading biogas to valuable solid carbon can potentially lead to negative CO2 emissions with long-term carbon storage but faces substantial thermodynamic and kinetic limits using a single reactor. Tandem strategies can decouple reactions into tandem reactors, integrate non-equilibrium processes and identify synergistic catalytic sites to enhance carbon nanofiber production.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 2","pages":"118-129"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143490065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-28DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00180-3
As we celebrate the journal’s inaugural volume, we reflect on a year of exciting content with several highlights from 2024 and look towards the future of both the field and the journal.
{"title":"One year of Nature Chemical Engineering","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00180-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00180-3","url":null,"abstract":"As we celebrate the journal’s inaugural volume, we reflect on a year of exciting content with several highlights from 2024 and look towards the future of both the field and the journal.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 1","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-025-00180-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-28DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00172-3
Claire S. Adjiman, Panagiota Angeli, André Bardow, Stacey F. Bent, Nigel Brandon, Katie Galloway, Raymond J. Gorte, Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez, Claudia Gutiérrez-Antonio, Marta C. Hatzell, Michael C. Jewett, Marlene Kanga, Michael Köpke, Markus Kraft, Ung Lee, Yayuan Liu, Guanghui Ma, Ewa Marek, Massimo Morbidelli, Eranda Nikolla, Maria Papathanasiou, Ah-Hyung ‘Alissa’ Park, Ingo Pinnau, Shi-Zhang Qiao, Vivek V. Ranade, Luis Ricardez-Sandoval, Sindia M. Rivera-Jiménez, Kirti Chandra Sahu, Berend Smit, Randall Q. Snurr, Cíntia Soares, Kevin Solomon, Kazuhiro Takanabe, Xiaonan Wang, Fei Wei, Matthias Wessling, Kathryn Whitehead, John M. Woodley, Zaiku Xie, Yushan Yan
As part of the first anniversary issue of Nature Chemical Engineering, we present a collection of opinions from 40 researchers within the field on what they think are the most exciting opportunities that lie ahead for their respective topics.
{"title":"Exploring the potential landscape of chemical engineering science","authors":"Claire S. Adjiman, Panagiota Angeli, André Bardow, Stacey F. Bent, Nigel Brandon, Katie Galloway, Raymond J. Gorte, Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez, Claudia Gutiérrez-Antonio, Marta C. Hatzell, Michael C. Jewett, Marlene Kanga, Michael Köpke, Markus Kraft, Ung Lee, Yayuan Liu, Guanghui Ma, Ewa Marek, Massimo Morbidelli, Eranda Nikolla, Maria Papathanasiou, Ah-Hyung ‘Alissa’ Park, Ingo Pinnau, Shi-Zhang Qiao, Vivek V. Ranade, Luis Ricardez-Sandoval, Sindia M. Rivera-Jiménez, Kirti Chandra Sahu, Berend Smit, Randall Q. Snurr, Cíntia Soares, Kevin Solomon, Kazuhiro Takanabe, Xiaonan Wang, Fei Wei, Matthias Wessling, Kathryn Whitehead, John M. Woodley, Zaiku Xie, Yushan Yan","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00172-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00172-3","url":null,"abstract":"As part of the first anniversary issue of Nature Chemical Engineering, we present a collection of opinions from 40 researchers within the field on what they think are the most exciting opportunities that lie ahead for their respective topics.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 1","pages":"19-25"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-025-00172-3.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-27DOI: 10.1038/s44286-024-00164-9
Sujit Datta
Sujit Datta demonstrates how scaling arguments, thermodynamics and transport phenomena can be deployed to describe the motion of microbial collectives.
{"title":"Microbes get by with a little help from their friends","authors":"Sujit Datta","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00164-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00164-9","url":null,"abstract":"Sujit Datta demonstrates how scaling arguments, thermodynamics and transport phenomena can be deployed to describe the motion of microbial collectives.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 1","pages":"90-90"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-27DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00181-2
Thomas Dursch
{"title":"Keeping cool under pressure","authors":"Thomas Dursch","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00181-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00181-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 1","pages":"26-26"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-27DOI: 10.1038/s44286-024-00169-4
Miguel A. Modestino, David Fernandez Rivas, Hannah Murnen, Aimee Rose, Susan Schofer, Stafford W. Sheehan, Richard Wang
We asked a group of academic innovators, entrepreneurs, investors and start-up mentors to provide advice to aspiring entrepreneurs through the critical stages of their journey — from ideation and research through piloting, scale-up and eventual exit strategies. Their insights offer practical guidance for navigating the unique challenges of building chemical technology companies.
{"title":"Chemical ventures from ideas to scaled solutions","authors":"Miguel A. Modestino, David Fernandez Rivas, Hannah Murnen, Aimee Rose, Susan Schofer, Stafford W. Sheehan, Richard Wang","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00169-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00169-4","url":null,"abstract":"We asked a group of academic innovators, entrepreneurs, investors and start-up mentors to provide advice to aspiring entrepreneurs through the critical stages of their journey — from ideation and research through piloting, scale-up and eventual exit strategies. Their insights offer practical guidance for navigating the unique challenges of building chemical technology companies.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 1","pages":"14-18"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-024-00169-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-27DOI: 10.1038/s44286-024-00168-5
Alexander K. Best, Aswathy K. Raghu, Paulami Majumdar, Linda J. Broadbelt
As customer-driven demand for sustainable solutions increases, so does the clamor for more efficient post-consumer plastic recycling methods. While recycling reactor conditions can be explored experimentally, it is advantageous to employ in silico methods. This Comment focuses on detailed mechanistic approaches for modeling the depolymerization of plastics, the current state of this field and the directions it should take.
{"title":"Modeling the depolymerization of plastics","authors":"Alexander K. Best, Aswathy K. Raghu, Paulami Majumdar, Linda J. Broadbelt","doi":"10.1038/s44286-024-00168-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-024-00168-5","url":null,"abstract":"As customer-driven demand for sustainable solutions increases, so does the clamor for more efficient post-consumer plastic recycling methods. While recycling reactor conditions can be explored experimentally, it is advantageous to employ in silico methods. This Comment focuses on detailed mechanistic approaches for modeling the depolymerization of plastics, the current state of this field and the directions it should take.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 1","pages":"8-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s44286-024-00168-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-01-23DOI: 10.1038/s44286-025-00173-2
Supported noble metal catalysts are widely applied in hydrogenation catalysis but are limited by their high costs and susceptibility to sintering. Now, a nanoscale confinement strategy is developed to stabilize few-atom platinum clusters, preserving their nuclearity and catalytic activity under harsh reaction conditions.
{"title":"Nanoscale confinement strategy for the stabilization of few-atom platinum cluster catalysts","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s44286-025-00173-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s44286-025-00173-2","url":null,"abstract":"Supported noble metal catalysts are widely applied in hydrogenation catalysis but are limited by their high costs and susceptibility to sintering. Now, a nanoscale confinement strategy is developed to stabilize few-atom platinum clusters, preserving their nuclearity and catalytic activity under harsh reaction conditions.","PeriodicalId":501699,"journal":{"name":"Nature Chemical Engineering","volume":"2 1","pages":"32-33"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143121618","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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