According to Wikipedia:

The Sabatier reaction involves the reaction of hydrogen with carbon dioxide at elevated temperatures (optimally 300-400°C) and pressure in the presence of a nickel catalyst to produce methane and water. $$CO_2+4H_2\rightarrow CH_4+H_2O+\text(Energy)$$

as you can see from the previous chemical reaction, to get 1 KMole $CH_4$ you must have 4 Kmole of hydrogen as reactants and a reaction medium of 300-400°C (God knows how much catalyst you need).

Compared to a conventional internal combustion engine running on methane:

• Hydrogen is not available in the ambient air to the point of allowing a sustained Sabatier reaction (it's not oxygen), which means you need a separate hydrogen tank along with your engine (not to mention the explosive nature of hydrogen).
• Preheating the reactants to 300-400°C will require an external one if done using hydrocarbon fuels, this will require an additional combustion chamber and heat exchanger.
• Higher calorific value of methane = 889 kJ/mol and HHV of hydrogen = 286 kJ/mol (Wikipedia) so theoretically speaking the Sabatier reaction would provide you with 1 mol of CH4 with a calorific value of 889 kJ feeding the reactor 4 Moles of H2 which had a calorific value of 4* 286 = 1144 kJ!!
• The resulting methane and water have a 1:1 ratio, introducing this mixture with this amount of water up to the combustion chamber will give you a VERY inefficient combustion process, so naturally you need a separation mechanism to keep the water content as low as possible before entering the combustion chamber.

So has anyone researched/built a car that burns methane and it recovers (at least some of it) from the exhaust via the Sabatier reaction?

I really have no idea, but from the previous points, I don't see the possibility of a conventional methane combustion engine at all.

Algo gave you a good answer about the details. There is a much broader, more widely used answer.

Converting any form of energy into heat creates a huge inefficiency. It is a low quality form of energy. So if you want to work with this energy at all, it's best to do it before it turns into heat, whenever possible.

When it is in the form of heat, then the quality of the energy (what we call it exergy, that is, the ability to work) depends on the difference between its temperature and the temperature of the cold tank that you use as your radiator. This is usually, but not always, the temperature environment. If you want to do any work with this heat, you do it when the temperature difference is greatest and the cold reservoir temperature is lowest.

So you don't go from heat to chemical energy to kinetic energy.

Whenever you do an energy transformation, you lose the ability to do work, that is, you lose some kind of exercise. When you do not heat to convert heat, you lose lot exergy. So the process of going back and forth where you go from, say, chemical energy (methane) to heat and then back is really inefficient and you get far less than you get back.

So no, you would not use the Sabatier process to drive a vehicle because that would include:

chemical energy --> heat -->
chemical energy --> heat --> kinetic energy

And really, it doesn't matter what conversion process is in this box, which is currently labeled "Sabatier": this convoluted series of conversions doesn't make sense, no matter what that process is.

Instead, you just go from chemical energy to heating to kinetic energy, which is what internal combustion engines do.

Going from methane to heat to methane is going to be very inefficient. You "d only do it in really exceptional circumstances. I can "t think of any right now, but I"m sure someone could contrive a corner-case where it made sense; e.g. some peculiar circumstance where you were able to move high-grade heat but could not move methane.

Therefore, it would be pointless to put a sabatier (or similar) process on a methane car. If you want higher efficiency, you need to invest in vehicle efficiency: lower speeds, cleaner, higher temperature engines, lighter vehicle weight, more aerodynamic profile, high efficiency transmission, kinetic energy recovery systems, etc. you did not fulfill is to add weight by adding an inefficient waste kit to turn your heat back into fuel: just burn less fuel.

For long-term flights (several months) in a pressurized cabin of an autonomous type, the physicochemical method of regenerating the gas environment in the cabin, using human metabolic products to produce oxygen, seems to be advantageous. Carbon dioxide and water vapor emitted by a person per day contain approximately 2.8 kg of oxygen, which significantly exceeds the daily rate of oxygen consumption by one person. Thus, there is a fundamental possibility of obtaining 02 from the products of human vital activity. From the carbon dioxide emitted per day by one person (~ 0.9 kg), you can get 0.65 kg of oxygen, and to get the missing 0.15-0.25 kg of oxygen, you need only 0.17-0.28 kg of water, as which you can use the "excess" metabolic water "excreted by the body in the process of metabolism.

The physico-chemical regeneration system can be based on the use Sabatier reactions. Thus, the end product for oxygen production is water entering the electrolyzer, which is one of the main components of the system for the physicochemical regeneration of the gaseous medium in the cabin. In such a regeneration system, zeolites can be used for CO2 sorption, and refrigeration-drying units (XSA) (4.2) can be used to remove excess moisture from the cabin, providing condensation of water vapor.

If all stages of oxygen reduction are carried out, then the amount of hydrogen necessary for the Sabatier reaction is provided by electrolysis of water and pyrolysis of methane, which requires significant energy consumption.

Structural diagram of the physico-chemical regeneration system. The system works as follows. The air from the cabin is circulated by means of fans B along two circuits: through zeolites C and XSA, in which CO2 is sorbed and moisture is condensed. Zeolite absorbers are connected in two parallel blocks and work alternately - one in the sorption mode, the other in the desorption mode. The carbon dioxide absorbed by the zeolites is fed through the CO2 condenser to the methane reactor, where hydrogen is also fed through the concentrator from the cathode space of the electrolyzer. In a methane reactor, under appropriate conditions, CO2 is decomposed by the Sabatier reaction to water and methane. Water from the reactor is fed into the electrolyser, and methane is removed from the circuit. Some of the water also enters the electrolyzer from the H20 absorbers located in front of the zeolite cartridges.

Therefore, the electrolyte with the smallest p0 value is selected. This is achieved by choosing an electrolyte and its "full of a certain concentration (for KOH - 30-33 ° / o). The magnitude of the overvoltage r\ is the sum of the emf values. .concentration and chemical polarization. As can be seen from equations (4.8) and (4.9), during electrolysis, the concentration of hydroxyl ions in the cathode space increases, and in the anode space it decreases. This leads to the appearance of a concentration emf directed against the emf. external current source. Emf occurrence. chemical polarization, also directed against the emf. an external current source is associated with the slowness of the discharge of ions on the electrodes and the presence of the stage of formation of molecular O2 and H2 from atomic. In practice, the value depends on the following factors: electrode material, temperature, current density, nature and concentration of the electrolyte. As experience shows, among the metals that are stable in alkalis, the metals of the iron group are characterized by the lowest value, which are used in practice. An increase in the temperature of the electrolyte leads to a decrease in the overvoltage. However, this significantly increases the entrainment of electrolyte vapors by the evolved gases. In practice, electrolysis is usually carried out at temperatures not exceeding 80°C. Significant influence on the value of m] is exerted by the current density. The overvoltage decreases with decreasing current density. Therefore, it is advantageous to work with electrodes having as large a surface as possible.

The indicated amount of oxygen is close to the average daily intake of it by a person. It follows that in order to provide oxygen to one person, it is necessary to pass a current through the electrolysis plant of the order of 120 A. The average allowable current density lies in the range of 0.1-0.15 A/cm2. Therefore, the total surface of the electrodes of the electrolyzer will lie in the range of 800-1200 cm2, and taking into account the increase in consumption 62 at high physical activity the total surface of the electrodes should be increased by 2-3 times.

The molecules of hydrogen and oxygen released on the active surface of the electrodes pass through the large pores of the electrodes to their outer surface and are squeezed out into the corresponding gas chambers. A moving “gas-electrolyte” interface is formed in the electrodes, the position of which is determined by the ratio of the pore diameters in the cell elements and the presence of counterpressure in the gas chambers. With an increase in pressure in the latter, this boundary moves inward, since the electrolyte is squeezed out of the large pores of the electrodes, remaining only in the small ones. At the same time, electrolyte vapors, entrained by gases, will settle on the walls of the freed large pores and return to the diaphragm due to its absorption.

A possible scheme of the electrolysis plant is shown in 4.5. Oxygen and hydrogen obtained in the El electrolyzer enter the pressure equalizer UD. With an increase in pressure in one of the lines, the elastic membrane sags, reducing the removal of another gas and thereby equalizing the pressure in the gas chambers. Electrolyte vapors are separated in the XP cooler-separator, condensing on the walls of the heat exchanger, immersed in the refrigerant. "Filter F and afterburner KD (heated catalysts) finally purify oxygen, which acquires the desired temperature in the TO heat exchanger. Then oxygen enters the oxygen supply system of the crew.

Hydrogen from the electrolyzer enters the methane reactor. A promising physicochemical system is one based on the electrolysis of salts (potassium carbonates, for example). Here, in the electrolysis cell itself, CO2 is absorbed from the cabin air and gaseous oxygen is released from it as a result of intermediate reactions.

The French chemist Paul Sabatier was born in Carcassonne, in southern France. His parents are Pauline (Ghilam) Sabatier and Alexis Sabatier, a landowner who, having lost his property due to non-payment of debts, opened a hat shop. S. was one of three sons and youngest child in a family of seven children. An inquisitive and intelligent boy studied at the Lyceum in Carcassonne, where teachers considered him a capable and diligent student. S. himself often said: "I am most engaged in the subject that I like least." In 1868 he moved to the Toulouse Lyceum to prepare for the university entrance exams. In Toulouse, S. also attended public lectures on physics and chemistry, which first aroused in him the desire to study scientific research.

Before going to Paris for a two-year additional training, S. in 1869 ... 1872. studied classical languages ​​and literature at St. Mary in Toulouse. In 1874, he won first place in the entrance examinations and was admitted both to the École Normale Superière and to the Ecole Polytechnique. Choosing the latter, S. completed it in three years and was the best student in the group. During the next year he taught physics at the Lycée in Nîmes and then became assistant to the chemist Marcelin Berthelot at the Collège de France. Here S. continued his studies and in 1880. received his doctorate for his dissertation on the thermochemistry of sulfur and metal sulfates.

Over the next year, S. studied physics at the University of Bordeaux. Returning to Toulouse in 1882, two years later he received the chair of chemistry at the University of Toulouse, which he headed until the end of his scientific career. In 1905, Mr.. S. was appointed dean of the faculty and, despite the fact that in 1907. received an invitation to take the place of Henri Moissan at the University of Paris (Sorbonne), chose to stay in Toulouse.

Like Berthelot, S. at the beginning of his research activities focused on the problems of inorganic chemistry. Using the vacuum distillation method, he obtained pure hydrogen disulfide. The scientist also isolated the binary components of boron and silicon, discovered several new metal nitrides, developed methods for obtaining nitrosyl disulfuric acid and the basic mixed copper-silver salt.

In the 1890s S. turned to organic chemistry. He was particularly interested in the catalytic processes associated with hydrogenation, by which unsaturated organic compounds become saturated. (Unsaturated compounds are capable of chemical addition, while saturated ones do not.) At the same time, platinum and palladium usually served as catalysts in such reactions, and their high price prevented large-scale industrial use. S. were known experiments in which nickel carbonyl was obtained by exposing crushed nickel to the action of carbon monoxide. Knowing that a similar reaction occurs when iron is taken instead of nickel, S. wondered if it was possible to force other gases to react with nickel and other metals. In 1896 he obtained nitrogen peroxide in the presence of copper, cobalt and nickel.

When S. learned that Moissan and Charles Moreau, another French chemist, failed to achieve the same results using acetylene, S. repeated their experience, taking ethylene, a much less reactive substance, and passing gaseous ethylene over silver and nickel. He noticed that at 300°C an enhanced thermal glow occurs, carbon is deposited on nickel and gas is released. According to Moissan and Moreau, this gas must have been hydrogen. S. also found that the gas consists mainly of ethane, saturated with hydrogen compounds. Instead of binding ethylene, powdered nickel is used as a catalyst in the production of hydrogenated carbon compounds.

Since saturated hydrocarbons are important intermediates in the production of drugs, fragrances, detergents, edible fats and other industrial products, the discovery made by S. was of great practical value. Nevertheless, the scientist received only a few patents for his discoveries, although he continued to engage in scientific research. Working together with his student Zh.B. Sanderan, he proved the ability of nickel to hydrogenate (hydrogenate) other hydrocarbons.

In 1912, Mr.. S. was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his proposed method of hydrogenation of organic compounds in the presence of fine metals, which dramatically stimulated the development of organic chemistry." S. shared this prize with the French chemist Victor Grignard. “Over the past 15 years,” said S. in his Nobel lecture, “the thought of the mechanism of catalysis has never left me. All my successes are the result of her conclusions.” “Theories cannot claim immortality,” he added. “This is just a plow that the plowman uses to make a furrow, and which he has every right to replace after the harvest with another, more perfect one.”

One year after receiving Nobel Prize scientist published his discoveries. (He collected them in a generalizing monograph "Catalysis in Organic Chemistry", which was translated into many languages, including Russian. - Ed.) The concept of S. contradicted the theory previously put forward by Wilhelm Ostwald. Ostwald believed that gaseous reactants colliding with a solid catalyst are absorbed by micropores. S. also suggested that such reactions occur on the outer surface of the catalysts, leading to the formation of temporary, unstable, intermediate compounds. Unstable compounds are then destroyed, forming the final product, the output of which is observed. This general concept remains valid when evaluating the performance of recently discovered catalysts.

In 1929, Mr.. S. resigned as dean of the faculty at the University of Toulouse, and the following year resigned.

In 1884, Mr.. S. joined his fate with Germain Eral, the daughter of a local judge. They had four daughters. After his wife's death in 1898, C never remarried. Until 1939, when his health began to fail, the scientist continued to lecture at the University of Toulouse. He was a calm, reserved person. S. died on August 14, 1941 in Toulouse.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, S. received the Jacker Prize of the French Academy of Sciences (1905), the Davy Medal (1915) and the Royal Medal (1918) of the Royal Society of London, as well as the Franklin Medal of the Franklin Institute (1933). C. were awarded honorary degrees from the Universities of Pennsylvania and Zaragoza. He was a member of the French Academy of Sciences and a foreign member of many scientific societies, including the Royal Society of London, the Madrid Academy of Sciences. Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences, American Chemical Society, Brussels Scientific and British Chemical Society.

Ruthenium with alumina can be used as a more efficient catalyst. The process is described by the following reaction:

CO 2 + 4H 2 → CH 4 + 2H 2 O

Space station life support

Currently, oxygen generators aboard the International Space Station produce oxygen from water through electrolysis and dump the resulting hydrogen into space. When breathing oxygen, carbon dioxide is produced, which must be removed from the air and subsequently disposed of. This approach requires a regular supply of a significant amount of water to the space station for oxygen production, in addition to water for drinking, hygiene, etc. Such a significant supply of water will become unavailable on future long-term missions beyond Earth orbit.

A third and perhaps more elegant solution to the stoichiometric problem would be to combine the Sabatier reaction and the reaction of hydrogen with carbon dioxide in a single reactor as follows:

3CO 2 + 6H 2 → CH 4 + 2CO + 4H 2 O

This reaction is slightly exothermic and, by electrolysis of water, achieves a 4:1 ratio between oxygen and methane, providing a large reserve supply of oxygen. According to the scheme, when only light hydrogen is delivered from the Earth, and heavy oxygen and carbon are produced in place, an 18:1 gain in mass is provided. This use of local resources would lead to significant weight and cost savings in any manned missions to Mars (or unmanned missions with soil delivery).

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See what the "Sabatier reaction" is in other dictionaries:

Wikipedia has articles about other people with this last name, see Sabatier. Paul Sabatier fr. Paul Sabatier ... Wikipedia

Paul Sabatier Paul Sabatier (November 5, 1854, Carcassonne - August 14, 1941, Toulouse) French chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 1912. Biography Born in the family of a businessman Alexis Sabatier; secondary education ... Wikipedia

- (Fr. Paul Sabatier) (November 5, 1854, Carcassonne - August 14, 1941, Toulouse) French chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 1912 Biography Born in the family of a businessman Alexis Sabatier; secondary education ... Wikipedia

- (chemical) name originally given to hydrocarbons obtained by the hydrogenation of benzene and some of its homologues (Bertelo, Bayer, Wreden), because these substances were considered (based on their composition) to be products of a direct connection ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

The information in this article or some of its sections is out of date. You can help the project ... Wikipedia

- (France) French Republic (République Française). I. General information F. state in Western Europe. In the north, the territory of F. is washed North Sea, the straits of the Pas de Calais and the English Channel, in the west of the Bay of Biscay ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

The plan to colonize Mars has always assumed relatively easy access to water. Found a huge lake (14,300 cubic kilometers of ice) - the map in the picture - fits perfectly into the Plan.

Recall Musk's plan - I quote verbatim, and then the translation, comments and details from Elon's other speeches.

1. Send Dragon scouting missions, initially just to make sure we know how to land without adding a crater and then to figure out the best way to get water for the CH4/O2 Sabatier Reaction.
2. Heart of Gold spaceship flies to Mars loaded only with equipment to build the propellant plant.
3. First crewed mission with equipment to build rudimentary base and complete the propellant plant.
4. Try to double the number of flights with each Earth-Mars orbital rendezvous, which is every 26 months, until the city can grow by itself.

Its text is italic, my comments are direct.

1. Send the Dragon to investigate. First, to make sure we know how to land the ship without adding another crater, and then find The best way water production for the CH4/O2 Sabatier reaction.

Don't add a crater
Elon jokes, to add a crater means to break the lander. His performance took place just after the Exo Mars mission added a nice crater to the planet's surface. Dragon is the Red Dragon mission, which should start in 2018. It means practicing and demonstrating a vertical landing on engines, similar to landing on a spaceport and a floating platform "Of course I still love you."

Mission Red Dragon
The dragon will be loaded with robots for exploration and mining. Apparently, SpaceX will order robots to other organizations. But this decision has not yet been announced. Musk also has his own robot company, which has already invested at least a billion dollars.

Water and the Sabatier reaction
Two chemical reactions and, accordingly, two installations for chemical reactions will be the main initial stage colonization a. Water electrolysis reaction, b. Sabatier reaction
a. 2H2O \u003d 2H2 + O2 - In this reaction, the decomposition of water forms oxygen and hydrogen
b. CO2 + 4H2 → CH4 + 2H2O + energy - Reacting with the carbon dioxide of the Martian atmosphere, hydrogen produces methane and water. The Sabatier reaction proceeds with the release of energy, which can / must be utilized.
Methane and oxygen are the fuel and oxidant for the ITS (Interplanetary Transport Ship) series of ships, the first of which will receive the iconic name "Golden Heart".

Interestingly, the Sabatier reaction facility has already been built and tested at CO2 concentrations corresponding to the Martian atmosphere. But it will evolve and improve.

2. "Heart of Gold" will fly to Mars, loaded only with the equipment necessary to build a plant for the production of fuel.

The Golden Heart will fly unmanned and drop up to 100 tons of equipment and materials onto the surface of Mars. Basically, it will be the equipment necessary for the implementation on an industrial scale of water extraction and the production of these 2 reactions: electrolysis of water and Sabatier. It is obvious that energy sources are included in this equipment.

3. The task of the first manned mission is to build a base with the most necessary things and complete the fuel production facility.

The first manned mission will have 12 people. Elon has a lot of concrete ideas of what the "basic base" should consist of - its name is Mars Base Alpha - but now is not the time to discuss all the details. The active use of natural tunnels and caves, which NASA has already found, and the construction of other underground facilities are expected. On the surface, transparent tents made of glass and with carbon fiber reinforcement are assumed.

Obviously, the main work will be the completion of the establishment of enterprises, the equipment for which will be delivered by the "Golden Heart": water production, energy, electrolysis reaction, Sabatier reaction.

4. After that, the task will be to double the number of ships sent at each approach of Earth and Mars, which occurs every 26 months, until the city begins to grow independently.

There is nothing to comment on. Hundreds of unresolved issues. Although only two seem difficult: the rules of interaction with the native biosphere of Mars (which probably exists and is probably very fragile) and whether babies will normally bear and be born at 1/3 of Earth's gravity.

Ice Lake is located in a convenient region of Mars, mid-latitudes, there are many very flat places suitable for landing. A layer of soil covering the ice, from one to ten meters thick. The ice is also partially mixed with sand, but the purity of the ice is in the range of 50-85%. The depth of the ice lake is from 100 to 200 meters.

The water reserve is comparable to one of the American Great Lakes - "Upper".