Self-Sustained Sabatier Reaction via Submerged Photosynthesis
- 1Center for Advanced Research of Energy and Materials, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan, 060-8628
- 2Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Kita 13 Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Japan, 060-8628
Abstract
CO 2 methanation is a promising route for carbon utilization, yet conventional processes remain constrained by their reliance on externally supplied H 2 and specialized catalysts. To overcome these limitations, this study introduces a self-sustained Sabatier reaction based on the submerged photosynthesis of crystallites (SPSC). In this single aqueous system, metallic Fe and Mg powders react with carbonated water to generate H 2 and CH 4 near room temperature without an added methanation catalyst. Light irradiation accelerates the production of both gases. CH 4 production scales approximately in proportion with H 2 generation across diverse reaction conditions, with both gases exhibiting similar apparent activation energies. During the reaction, plate-like FeCO 3 forms on the Fe surface, while Mg addition modifies this carbonate structure to enhance relative CH 4 formation at longer reaction times. Scavenger experiments confirm the pivotal role of electron transfer in gas production. These results demonstrate that metal oxidation, electron transfer, and surface-bound carbonate reactions drive SPSC-methanation, successfully integrating in situ H 2 generation, CH 4 formation, and metal carbonate crystallization without external H 2 input.
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BibTeX
@misc{zhang2026selfsustained,
title = {{Self-Sustained Sabatier Reaction via Submerged Photosynthesis}},
author = {Lihua Zhang and Daichi Uchikawa and Hiroki Kumai and Takaya Fujii and Yuki Tanaka and Seiichi Watanabe},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15010529/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010529/v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Self-Sustained Sabatier Reaction via Submerged Photosynthesis
AU - Lihua Zhang
AU - Daichi Uchikawa
AU - Hiroki Kumai
AU - Takaya Fujii
AU - Yuki Tanaka
AU - Seiichi Watanabe
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15010529/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15010529/v1
AB - CO 2 methanation is a promising route for carbon utilization, yet conventional processes remain constrained by their reliance on externally supplied H 2 and specialized catalysts. To overcome these limitations, this study introduces a self-sustained Sabatier reaction based on the submerged photosynthesis of crystallites (SPSC). In this single aqueous system, metallic Fe and Mg powders react with carbonated water to generate H 2 and CH 4 near room temperature without an added methanation catalyst. Light irradiation accelerates the production of both gases. CH 4 production scales approximately in proportion with H 2 generation across diverse reaction conditions, with both gases exhibiting similar apparent activation energies. During the reaction, plate-like FeCO 3 forms on the Fe surface, while Mg addition modifies this carbonate structure to enhance relative CH 4 formation at longer reaction times. Scavenger experiments confirm the pivotal role of electron transfer in gas production. These results demonstrate that metal oxidation, electron transfer, and surface-bound carbonate reactions drive SPSC-methanation, successfully integrating in situ H 2 generation, CH 4 formation, and metal carbonate crystallization without external H 2 input.
ER -