UM atUM [S01-ep24]: From Gas Purification to the Cryogenics Lab

[Podcast] - Published on June 10, 2022 in Science and Society, Outreach

This week on *AUM science*, our guest is Guillaume Maurin, a researcher atthe Charles Gerhardt Institute in Montpellier. Together with his team, he has just developed a new membrane that improves the economic and environmental efficiency of gas purification. In the second segment, Bernard Mongellaz gives us a tour of the University of Montpellier’s cryogenics laboratory.

In France, natural gas consumption accounts for 19.2% of final energy consumption. Of all fossil fuels, natural gas can be considered one of the least polluting, as it emits 25% less CO2 than oil and half as much as coal. It also does not emit dust, smoke, heavy metals, or waste.

Admittedly, natural gas isn’t exactly what you’d call a green energy source either—especially when it comes to shale gas—but given the current energy and geopolitical landscape, it’s a safe bet that its share of the French energy mix will increase in the coming years.

Especially since, alongside natural gas, a new option is emerging with significantly greater environmental potential: biogas. It currently accounts for only 1% of consumption in France, but better waste management—supported by an effective recycling policy—could make this sector a genuine eco-friendly alternative.

There is still one problem to solve: biogases, like natural gas, cannot be used in their raw state and require a purification process. This industrial process is energy-intensive and therefore costly both economically and environmentally.

Guillaume Maurin is a researcher at the Charles Gerhardt Institute in Montpellier. As part of a collaboration with Chinese and Saudi teams, he has recently developed a new membrane that could revolutionize natural gas and biogas purification processes and reduce their energy costs. Their findings have just been published in the journal *Science*, and additional findings are forthcoming in *Nature*.

In the second half of the show, we’re staying on the topic of gases as we take you to the cryogenic laboratory, where Bertrand Mongellaz tells you all about the liquefaction of a gas that’s essential to scientific research: helium. His secret base is called the cryogenic laboratory.

AtUM , you’ve got the schedule—let’s get started!

Production: Universityof Montpellier/Divergence FM
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: AlinePériault/Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Director: AdelineFloch’

Tune in to the show “A LUM LA SCIENCE” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: UM atUM, Environment, Research, Science, Company