Where and how can I buy Liquid Methane.?

Question

I would actually like liquid methane. To use as rocket fuel. Where and how (license requirements) can I buy it

Answer 1

I think you should work directly for NASA. The following info comes from Science@NASA, dealing with the methane engine:

Perhaps surprisingly, this flammable gas has never powered a spacecraft before. But now scientists and engineers at Marshall, the Glenn Research Center and the Johnson Space Center are developing LOX/methane engines as an option for the future. "Several efforts are underway, including a rival LOX/methane main engine design by KT Engineering," notes Tramel.

"This work is funded by NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program and shows how technologies being developed for exploration may one day assist in future science missions," says Mark D. Klem, manager of the Propulsion and Cryogenics Advanced Development Project at the Glenn Research Center.

"Methane has so many advantages," continues Tramel. "The question is, why haven't we done this before?"

Consider the following: Liquid hydrogen fuel used by the space shuttle must be stored at a temperature of -252.9°C—only about 20 degrees above absolute zero! Liquid methane, on the other hand, can be stored at the much warmer and more convenient temperature of -161.6°C. That means methane fuel tanks wouldn't need as much insulation, making them lighter and thus cheaper to launch. The tanks could also be smaller, because liquid methane is denser than liquid hydrogen, again saving money and weight.

It seems that getting methane liquid for home research is difficult, but the industry is working in this area.

Answer 2

The license requirements depend on the state you're living.

License nonwithstanding, even if you manage to purchase liquid methane, how are you planning to keep it liquid?

BP is -161 C, so unless you have access to liquid N2, you'll end up with methane, gas, at high pressure & rather quickly.