A simple flame-synthesis method can produce highly active catalysts for converting carbon dioxide into methane, as reported by researchers from Science Tokyo. The team used flame-assisted spray pyrolysis to manufacture nickel–cerium oxide catalysts with finer nanoparticles and more active sites than conventional methods. These catalysts achieved outstanding methanation performance while remaining suitable for large-scale production, offering a practical route toward carbon-neutral fuel technologies.
As the world works towards achieving carbon neutrality, finding practical ways to reuse captured carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) has become an important goal. One promising approach is to convert waste or atmospheric CO 2 into methane (CH 4 ), a valuable fuel and chemical feedstock, through a process known as methanation. Because methane can be stored and transported using existing gas infrastructure, it could help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.
However, making CO 2 methanation efficient and affordable remains a major challenge. Although scientists have developed exceptional catalysts, many of the best-performing ones require complex manufacturing methods that are costly, time-consuming, and difficult to scale for industrial production. Unless catalyst synthesis can be simplified, CO 2 methanation is unlikely to have a meaningful impact on carbon emissions.
To address this challenge, a research team led by Associate Professor Tsuyoshi Nagasawa from Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, including graduate student Kosei Okada from the same institute, in collaboration with Designated Associated Professor Maki Nakamura from the Nagoya University, Japan, and researchers from the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI), SPring-8, Japan, has developed a simple one-step method for producing high-performance catalysts for CO 2 methanation. Their findings, made available online on July 8, 2026, and will be published in Volume 428 of the journal Fuel on January 15, 2027, demonstrate how this innovative manufacturing approach can produce excellent nickel–cerium oxide (Ni/CeO 2 ) catalysts while remaining suitable for large-scale production.
The researchers focused on a technique called flame-assisted spray pyrolysis (FASP), a one-step process in which a solution containing the catalyst ingredients is sprayed into a high-temperature flame. As the droplets pass through the flame, they rapidly form catalyst particles without requiring the multiple preparation steps used in conventional methods. Using a diffusion-flame FASP system, the team synthesized Ni/CeO 2 catalysts and compared them with catalysts produced by the widely used impregnation method.
Detailed structural analyses using advanced techniques like field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption fine structure revealed clear advantages for the flame-synthesized catalysts. They consisted of much finer and more uniformly distributed nanoparticles, providing a larger surface area and better dispersion of nickel. Moreover, they had more oxygen vacancies, more catalytically active reduced nickel species, and more contact points between nickel and cerium oxide, all of which help drive the methanation reaction.
These structural improvements translated directly into better catalytic performance, as the FASP-derived catalyst achieved higher CO 2 conversion rates and methane selectivity throughout the tested temperature range. “At 300 °C, flame-produced catalysts achieved a methane production rate of 81.3 μmol/(g cat ·s), representing high-level performance among the reported Ni/CeO 2 -based methanation catalysts despite a relatively low nickel loading,” says Nagasawa.
Considering the simplicity of the proposed one-step FASP process, the team believes this method could help solve the manufacturing bottleneck that has held back CO 2 methanation. “By combining simple manufacturing with excellent catalytic performance, this technology has strong potential to support the industrial deployment of large-scale CO 2 utilization and synthetic methane production in future carbon-neutral energy systems,” concludes Nagasawa.
In the near future, such scalable technologies will hopefully play an important role in transforming captured carbon into valuable resources.
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About Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo)
Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo) was established on October 1, 2024, following the merger between Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) and Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech), with the mission of “Advancing science and human wellbeing to create value for and with society.”
Fuel
Experimental study
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One-step synthesis of Ni/CeO2 catalyst with fine structure for CO2 methanation by flame-assisted spray pyrolysis
15-Jan-2027
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.