methanol tagged posts

Alcohol in space: Exotic methanol discovered in planet-building zones

Cosmic Cocktail: Exotic Methanol Discovered in Planet-Building Zones
COMPASS MPIfR. This composite image shows the Perseus molecular cloud, which is located about 1,000 light-years from Earth. A rare form of the organic alcohol methanol has been observed around at least one of the very young stars still embedded within it. This is the first time this molecule has been detected in space. Credit: Ekaterina Moerova / MPIfR; Background: NASA, CXC, SSC, NOAO, DSS; and 3D image of methanol from PubChem [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US), National Center for Biotechnology Information; 2004-. PubChem Compound Summary for CID 887, Methanol; [cited 2026 July 16]

An international team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which the U.S...

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Research Lights up Process for Turning COâ‚‚ into Sustainable Fuel

Research lights up process for turning CO2 into sustainable fuel
Reactor where the catalyst is tested for turning CO2 to methanol. Credit: University of Nottingham

Researchers have successfully transformed CO2 into methanol by shining sunlight on single atoms of copper deposited on a light-activated material, a discovery that paves the way for creating new green fuels.

An international team of researchers from the University of Nottingham’s School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, University of Queensland, and University of Ulm have designed a material made up of copper anchored on nanocrystalline carbon nitride.

The copper atoms are nested within the nanocrystalline structure, which allows electrons to move from carbon nitride to CO2, an essential step in the production of methanol from CO2 under the influence of solar irradiation...

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Reaction Insights help make Sustainable Liquid Fuels

Elucidation of radical- and oxygenate-driven paths in zeolite-catalysed conversion of methanol and methyl chloride to hydrocarbons, Nature Catalysis (2022)

Methanol, produced from carbon dioxide in the air, can be used to make carbon neutral fuels. But to do this, the mechanism by which methanol is turned into liquid hydrocarbons must be better understood so that the catalytic process can be optimised. Now, using sophisticated analytical techniques, researchers from ETH Zürich and Paul Scherrer Institute have gained unprecedented insight into this complex mechanism.

As we struggle to juggle the impact of emissions with our desire to maintain our energy hungry lifestyle, using carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to create new fuels is an exciting, carbon neutral alternative...

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Surprise methanol detection points to evolving story of Saturn’s moon Enceladus’s plumes

NASA image of Enceladus within the E-ring in orbit around Saturn, where it is possible that the methanol detection could originate further out in the E-ring. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute. Click for a larger image

NASA image of Enceladus within the E-ring in orbit around Saturn, where it is possible that the methanol detection could originate further out in the E-ring. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute. Click for a larger image

 
A serendipitous detection of the organic molecule methanol around an intriguing moon of Saturn suggests that material spewed from Enceladus undertakes a complex chemical journey once vented into space. This is the first time that a molecule from Enceladus has been detected with a ground-based telescope. Dr Emily Drabek-Maunder, of Cardiff University, will present the results on Tuesday 4th July at the National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Hull.
 
Enceladus’s plumes are thought to originate in water escaping from a subsurface ocean t...
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