Instituto de Investigación Loyola Energía, Tecnología y Sostenibilidad

Catalytic and Electrocatalytic Valorization of Biogas Components into Green Hydrogen and Methanol

The CATBIO subproject aims to harness biogas —a renewable source derived from organic waste— to produce green hydrogen and methanol, two key fuels in the energy transition.

To achieve this, the team investigates catalytic and electrocatalytic processes that transform the two main components of biogas: methane (CH₄) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). Specifically:

• Methane is catalytically decomposed to obtain renewable hydrogen.
• CO₂ is converted into methanol through electroreduction.

Both reactions are developed using heteroatom-doped carbons (atoms other than carbon, such as nitrogen or fluorine), which significantly enhance the activity and selectivity of the catalysts.

CATBIO is part of a broader strategy for the integral valorization of biogas, beginning with the purification and separation of its components. To this end, carbon-based materials are being designed to selectively capture CO₂ from CH₄/CO₂ mixtures, with their properties characterized using advanced adsorption techniques.

Once separated, the captured CO₂ is converted into methanol using single-atom metal catalysts anchored on carbon structures. This configuration allows for high efficiency, as all metal atoms are available for the reaction and can be finely tuned to improve their performance and selectivity toward methanol.

In addition, the project proposes a novel experimental methodology to study how these metals interact with key process molecules (such as CO, H₂, and O₂) through adsorption microcalorimetry, which will help optimize catalyst design.

Finally, CATBIO will, for the first time, explore the use of doped carbons for the direct conversion of methane into high-purity hydrogen in a clean, CO₂-free process, as the solid carbon produced remains trapped within the material.

Overall, CATBIO will contribute to the development of new CO₂ capture and utilization technologies, the sustainable production of hydrogen, and the advancement of the biogas industry, offering new pathways for the valorization and commercialization of its products.