University of Liverpool - Have powder, will travel

Chemists have developed a way of converting methane gas into powder form to make it more transportable. The scientists at the University of Liverpool developed a material made from silica and water that can soak up large quantities of methane molecules. Andy Cooper, director of the Centre for Materials Discovery at Liverpool, said: "Many natural gas reserves are geographically remote and can be extracted only via pipelines, so there is a need to look for other ways to transport the gas."