[greenelephant]

Methane to Methanol

Methane to Methanol 2

Hello everyone. In the link above is a pdf from the Department of Energy detailing how they created methanol our of water using a photochemical reactor.

Im not sure if I am asking the correct people (you people) but I was wondering if you people could help me as Chemistry is not my forte.

I therefore have a few questions Id like to ask....

1. is the tungsten oxide catalyst a static/permanent feature in its capacity as a catalyst inside the reactor or is it a consumable which needs perpetual replenishing? If it is not, is there a method where after the process has finished you can salvage or capture the tungsten catalyst from the solution?

2. is the nitrogen used to cool the UV lamp built within a closed loop as a coolant inside the reactor or is it a consumable which needs perpetual replenishing?

3. The report suggests that visible light is possible over UV lamp to use for methane conversion for practical considerations for quartz reactor construction. Is this correct?

Thanks for any feedback given