Dr. Hee-yeon Kim’s Energy Materials Lab. at KIER developed a catalyst with a new ‘nitrogen doping’ technology that can maximize the yield of ethylene, called ‘rice’ in petrochemicals, using methane, a greenhouse gas, as a raw material.

The research team developed this technology to dope nitrogen components in a simple way to a tungsten-based catalyst as a method to improve the conversion rate of the reactant, methane, and suppress the oxidation reaction, which is a side reaction.

The research team has developed a technique of doping nitrogen components in a simple way to a tungsten-based catalyst as a method to improve the conversion rate of the reactant, methane, and suppress the oxidation reaction, which is a side reaction. This technology has been registered for a domestic patent and has also been applied for a patent in the United States.