A Bolt of Chemistry: Methane Becomes Methanol in a Plasma Bubble Reactor

Northwestern chemists unveiled a plasma-bubble reactor coated with copper oxide that converts methane directly to methanol in a single step by applying high-voltage electricity to generate plasma, achieving roughly 97% selectivity and also yielding hydrogen and ethylene; while simpler and potentially more energy-efficient than the traditional two-step steam-reforming route, the technology still faces scaling and economic hurdles before it can compete with optimized industrial processes.