1 00:00:11,190 --> 00:00:17,460 Hi, I'm Lizzie, and I'm using a nanoparticle catalyst to convert methane to carbon dioxide, 2 00:00:17,460 --> 00:00:22,920 methane is a very common gas produced in many chemical reactions and also from cows. 3 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:30,390 We're looking for a way to combat methane, carbon dioxide. You might ask, do we really need more carbon dioxide? 4 00:00:30,390 --> 00:00:35,850 Is that not a greenhouse gas responsible for global warming? Well, yes, you are right. 5 00:00:35,850 --> 00:00:45,030 Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, but so is methane. However, methane has a warming effect 20 times higher than carbon dioxide. 6 00:00:45,030 --> 00:00:49,590 This means the sun's energy coming into the atmosphere is warm 20 times more 7 00:00:49,590 --> 00:00:53,730 when it passes through methane than when it passes through carbon dioxide. 8 00:00:53,730 --> 00:01:00,750 So although producing carbon dioxide isn't the perfect solution, it is a great step towards reducing the greenhouse effect. 9 00:01:00,750 --> 00:01:08,790 So we've been busy working here to find a catalyst made from palladium and cerium oxide to convert the methane to carbon dioxide. 10 00:01:08,790 --> 00:01:14,490 A catalyst is a material which speeds up our reaction or makes it occur at a lower temperature. 11 00:01:14,490 --> 00:01:23,730 The catalyst we found reduces the temperature of the reaction. Currently, methane can be converted to carbon dioxide at around six hundred degrees C. 12 00:01:23,730 --> 00:01:28,230 This is a very expensive. Imagine having an oven that can get to that temperature. 13 00:01:28,230 --> 00:01:32,520 It would certainly burn your dinner, but when the gas passes through our catalyst, 14 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:37,740 the temperature at which the reaction occurs is lowered to around two hundred and fifty degrees C. 15 00:01:37,740 --> 00:01:50,130 Now that's the temperature your kitchen oven can probably reach. So how does the Catalist work between the engine and the exhaust? 16 00:01:50,130 --> 00:01:52,530 Is the Kassin sitcom Besta Inside? 17 00:01:52,530 --> 00:01:59,940 That is a mash which is coated in the catalyst and all of the exhaust gas has to pass through it before it is let out into the environment. 18 00:01:59,940 --> 00:02:06,030 So the methane and oxygen molecules from the engine come in, hit the grid and stick to the customer service. 19 00:02:06,030 --> 00:02:14,490 This weakens the bones in the molecules and they can begin to bond together. All the molecules rearrange and carbon dioxide and water are formed. 20 00:02:14,490 --> 00:02:19,680 These are released from the surface and let out of the exhaust using all. 21 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:25,140 This can only happen at a lower temperature. One similar to the temperature already in your exhaust. 22 00:02:25,140 --> 00:02:35,530 So much less energy and money is needed to do the reaction. So now we have produced all this carbon dioxide. 23 00:02:35,530 --> 00:02:41,700 I've already said that is a greenhouse gas and isn't great for the environment. So you might be thinking it's pretty bad. 24 00:02:41,700 --> 00:02:49,080 Wow. There are a lot of scientists out there working on capturing the carbon dioxide and storing it so we can use it in a useful way, 25 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:58,830 like inside a kind of coke, a fire extinguisher or even for making paper. 26 00:02:58,830 --> 00:03:01,960 So the cows are slightly more difficult problem to solve, 27 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:17,525 but maybe one day in the future we'll be able to capture that methane and convert it to something more valuable, like methanol to.