Find materials that 'hold' methane gas

US scientists have discovered materials can 'hold' and concentrate methane, the second highest concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

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US scientists have just discovered possible materials
'caught' and concentrated methane gas (Photo: llnl.gov)

Unlike carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) that can be trapped in a variety of solvents and porous solids, methane (CH ₄ ) is completely non-polar and very weak to most materials.

Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley, recently conducted computer simulation studies of "keeping" methane using two different materials: liquid solvents and nanoporous zeolite - Porous materials are often used in commercial adsorbents.

The results showed that liquid solvents have no effect on methane retention, but some zeolites have absorbed methane, opening hope for a promising new technology.

One of the zeolites is SBN, which can hold a moderate amount of methane to turn it into high-purity methane, which can then be used to produce high-yielding electricity.

Two other zeolites, named ZON and FER, can concentrate dilute methane gas into moderate concentration, which can be used to treat ventilation in coal.

The study will be published in detail in Nature Communications next week.