Carbon-Based Innovations for Clean Energy: Production, Storage and Conversion of Methane, Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide

Methane, the key component of natural gas and biogas, emerges as a critical fuel source due to its environmental benefits, producing fewer toxic emissions and greenhouse gases compared to conventional fossil fuels. Its higher hydrogen-to-carbon ratio and efficient combustion contribute to its cost-effectiveness. While methane has a lower volumetric energy density than gasoline, its reduced carbon dioxide emissions significantly decrease its carbon footprint. Hydrogen, a notable eco-friendly energy carrier, boasts renewability and high gravimetric energy density. Combustion yields only water, reinforcing carbon neutrality and reducing fossil fuel dependency. With nearly three times the chemical energy per unit mass compared to conventional fuels, hydrogen holds immense potential in transportation, industry, and power generation, although storage remains challenging due to its lower volumetric energy density.

In addition to storage, the efficient production and conversion of methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide into each other represent essential steps toward achieving circular carbon and hydrogen cycles. These transformations can be driven by thermal, electrochemical, photo-chemical, or hybrid processes, where carbon-based materials play a crucial role as catalysts, electrodes, or supports. Innovative catalytic and electrochemical routes for CO₂-to-CH₄ methanation, CH₄-to-H₂ reforming, and H₂ production from renewable sources directly impact clean energy systems and carbon neutrality.

Significant gaps persist in the advancement of carbon-based materials for gas storage, underlining the necessity for research in practical solutions. Current materials fail to meet gas storage capacity goals at room temperature and low pressure, mainly due to inadequate micropore optimization and limited volumetric capacity of powdered adsorbents. Investigating compaction strategies alongside potential chemical modifications, like doping, is essential for enhancing adsorption and scalability of hybrid materials. Challenges regarding cyclic stability, impurity resistance, and cost-effective large-scale production remain, as well as issues related to precursor materials and end-of-life management. Future studies should enhance adsorption capacity, selectivity, and durability under real-world conditions while innovative synthesis methods aim to lower costs and minimize environmental impact.

Another critical aspect concerns gas separation, particularly for CO₂/H₂/N₂/CH₄ mixtures encountered in natural gas upgrading, biogas purification, and hydrogen production. Carbon-based membranes and adsorbents with tailored pore structures and surface functionalities offer promising routes for efficient gas separation and purification.

There is a pressing need for efficient gas storage solutions and standardized performance metrics to encourage the wide adoption of methane and hydrogen as sustainable clean energy sources. The Research Topic "Carbon-Based Innovations for Clean Energy: Advancing Methane, Hydrogen Storage and Carbon Dioxide Capture," is dedicated to improving energy storage technologies. It seeks to explore innovative carbon-based materials enhancing methane and hydrogen storage efficiency and carbon dioxide capture. This initiative meets global energy demands and sustainability challenges by focusing on advanced carbon-based adsorbents, considering diverse storage conditions, and optimizing volumetric and gravimetric capacities. It also addresses practical issues such as adsorption kinetics, material stability, and the development of greener synthesis methods. By promoting collaboration among researchers and industry experts, this Research Topic aspires to innovate sustainable storage solutions, support clean transportation, and tackle environmental challenges.

We invite scholarly contributions to enhance our understanding of carbon-based materials, particularly their application in methane and hydrogen production, storage, and conversion, as well as in effective carbon dioxide capture and utilization. We also welcome studies addressing the catalytic production and conversion of methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide using carbon-based materials as catalysts or supports, aiming to link storage, conversion, and utilization within integrated clean energy cycles.

Submissions should engage with, but are not limited to, the following themes:

- Investigation of carbon-based materials and nanostructures for methane and hydrogen storage, as well as carbon dioxide capture, including their synthesis and characterization.

- Catalytic production and conversion of CH₄, H₂ and CO₂ using carbon-based materials, including methanation, reforming, and CO₂ hydrogenation processes.

- Surface chemistry, adsorption dynamics, adsorption kinetics and equilibrium, and underlying adsorption mechanisms.

- Storage solutions for natural gas (methane), biogas (biomethane), and hydrogen.

- Effective strategies for carbon dioxide capture.

- Gas separation and purification involving CO₂/H₂/N₂/CH₄ mixtures through adsorption and membrane-based techniques.

- Integration of adsorption and membrane separation techniques.

- The significance of catalysis in enhancing reaction efficiency, addressing energy production, pollution reduction, and resource sustainability.

- The role of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques in predicting and optimizing gas adsorption processes, enhancing environmental applicability.

We welcome both experimental and computational research, including original research, perspectives, reviews, and mini-reviews.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• Mini Review
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review

Keywords: carbon-based materials, porous carbons, clean energy solutions, methane storage, natural gas storage, biogas storage, hydrogen storage, energy carrier, energy storage, adsorption, materials for energy and catalysis

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.