Your home may be heated with natural gas, which consists largely of methane, CH₄. Although widely used, it is also widely wasted! The world’s known and projected reserves of methane are 250,000 trillion liters. Unfortunately, much of it is in areas such as Southeast Asia or in the northern reaches of Canada that are far removed from the centers of fuel consumption. Methane can be carried as a gas in pipelines, but this method is expensive if the distances are great. Alternatively, it can be liquefied and carried by ship, but this procedure risks a fiery catastrophe. The drawbacks to transportation mean that methane is often simply burned or "flared off" when it comes out of the ground with oil.

The structure of methane, CH₄.

One solution to making methane useful is to convert it, where it is found, to a more readily transportable liquid such as methanol, CH₃OH. The methanol can then be used directly as a fuel, or used to make other chemicals.

It has been known for some time that methane can be converted to carbon monoxide and hydrogen,

CH₄(g) + H₂O(g) CO(g) + 3 H₂(g)

and this mixture of gases can readily be turned into methanol in another step.

CO(g) + 2 H₂(g) CH₃OH(l)

Unfortunately, the first step in this process is a high-temperature (>900°C), energy-intensive process. In 1993, however, Catalytica, Inc. of California announced that methane can be converted to methanol with a 43% yield by using a mercury (II) salt as a catalyst (a substance that accelerates a reaction without being consumed in the reaction) in the presence of sulfuric acid and water.

CH₄(g) + 1/2 O CH₃OH(l)

Although problems potentially exist in a process that uses toxic mercury compounds and highly corrosive sulfuric acid, the discovery is important to consumers of energy and chemicals worldwide.

Just as exciting is another discovery regarding methane. Chemical engineers at the University of Minnesota have found that methane can in fact be converted to CO and H₂ under very mild conditions. They simply found the right catalyst! The engineers allowed a mixture of room-temperature methane and oxygen to flow through a heated, sponge-like ceramic disk coated with platinum or rhodium. Rather than oxidizing the methane all the way to water and carbon dioxide, the process produces a hot mixture of CO and H₂ which can be converted in good yield to methanol.

Kotz/Treichel:  Chemistry and Chemical Reactivity,  3/e,  p. 513