Newly Discovered Methane-Gobbling Material Could Help Stem Global Warming

There may be a new way to reduce the emissions that help spark global warming. Researchers have discovered new materials that can capture methane, the second highest concentration of greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere.

Methane can cause some big problems for the Earth. It's a substantial driver of climate change, contributing about 30 percent to current net climate warming. In addition, methane leaks associated with expanding oil and gas extraction and the rapidly melting Arctic ice could further drive up temperatures in the future. This makes containing the gas all the more important.

In fact, reducing methane emissions could help halt sea level rise. Another study published recently reveals that an immediate reduction in short-lived pollutants, such as methane, could reduce the rate of sea level rise by about 18 percent.

"It is still not too late, by stabilizing carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere and reducing emission of shorter-lived pollutants, to lower the rate of warming and reduce sea level rise by 30 percent," said Veerabhadran Ramanathan of Scripps in an interview with AtmosNews. "The large role of the shorter-lived pollutants is encouraging since technologies are available to drastically cut their emissions."

In this latest study, the research team performed systematic computer simulation studies on the effectiveness of methane capture using two different materials--liquid solvents and nanoporous zeolites, which are porous materials commonly used as commercial absorbents. They found that while the liquid solvents were not effective for methane capture, a handful of zeolites were extremely promising.

"Methane capture poses a challenge that can only be address through extensive material screening and ingenious molecular-level designs," said Amitesh Maiti, one of the researchers, in a press release.

Zeolites are structures that can be used for many different types of gas separations and storage applications because of their diverse topology from various networks of the framework atoms. One specific zeolite, named SBN, was able to capture enough medium source methane to turn it into high purity methane. This, in turn, could be used to generate efficient electricity.

Currently, the researchers are still working on these materials, yet they could provide promising ways to capture and utilize methane. This, in turn, could help stem the tide of global warming and hold back Earth's rising seas.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.