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Updated: Jul 19, 2025

Author Spotlight: Scaling Microalgal Biotechnology for Enhanced Biomethane Production
Published on: March 22, 2024
Methane-to-chemicals: a pathway to decarbonization
Nikolai Nesterenko1, Izabel C Medeiros-Costa1, Edwin B Clatworthy2
1TotalEnergies One Tech Belgium, Zone Industrielle C, Seneffe 7181, Belgium.
Abstract:
The utilization of methane for chemical production, often considered as the future of petrochemistry, historically could not compete economically with conventional processes due to higher investment costs. Achieving sustainability and decarbonization of the downstream industry by integration with a methane-to-chemicals process may provide an opportunity to unlock the future for these technologies. Gas-to-chemicals is an efficient tool to boost the decarbonization potential of renewable energy. While the current implementation of carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies is of great importance for industrial decarbonization, a shift to greener CO2-free processes and CO2 utilization from external sources for manufacturing valuable goods is highly preferred. This review outlines potential options for how a methane-to-chemicals process could support decarbonization of the downstream industry.
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