IIT Madras scientists have created what they call ‘space fuel’ by simulating interstellar conditions in the lab, a method that may be used to convert atmospheric CO2 into a next generation energy source on Earth.

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could help curb greenhouse gases as well as provide a new, sustainable source of energy. “What we have found is that molecules like methane and ammonia in space could exist in a completely different form than what is known to us,” Thalappil Pradeep of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras told PTI.

Clathrate hydrates are molecules like methane, carbon dioxide, etc, trapped in well-defined cages of water molecules forming crystalline solids. They are formed at high pressures and low temperatures at places such as the ocean floor, hundreds of metres below the sea level. They are also found in glaciers such as in Siberia.

Such hydrates especially that of methane, are thought to be the future sources of fuel. Many nations across the world including India have programmes to explore hydrates in the ocean bed. IIT Madras researchers formed such hydrates in vacuum, one thousand billion times below the atmospheric pressure called ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and temperature close to minus 263 degree Celsius. These are the conditions present in deep space. This discovery of hydrates is highly unexpected at extremely low pressures and ultra-cold temperatures and may have several implications for the chemistry of such atmospheres, Pradeep said.

“Trapping carbon dioxide in hydrates is a way to reduce global warming. One can sequester carbon dioxide gas as solid hydrates under the sea bed,” said Rajnish Kumar, co-author in this study. In hydrates, molecular confinement can result in new chemistry, especially in presence of cosmic light present in interstellar environment. Understanding this chemistry may be important to better understand the origins of life.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW