MIT News December 4, 2024 Anthropogenic methane emissions, particularly from diffuse and dilute sources, pose a significant challenge for oxidation and valorization as existing methane oxidation routes rely on high temperatures or pressures. Researchers at MIT found that the catalytic coupling of alcohol oxidase with the iron-modified ZSM-5 (Fe-ZSM-5) zeolite catalyst, created a tandem methanotrophic system that partially oxidized methane at ambient temperatures and pressures. They showed that methane-to-formaldehyde selectivity could exceed 90% at room temperature. The generated formaldehyde was rapidly incorporated into a growing urea polymer. According to the researchers their work presents a sustainable route for methane oxidation… […]
Tag Archives: Methane oxidation
Ocean Microbes May Actually Help Moderate Earth’s Temperature, Scientists Say
Science Alert June 18, 2021 As marine methane seeps, vast quantities of methane move through the shallow subseafloor, where it is largely consumed by microbial communities. A team of researchers in the US (Harvard University, DOE, USGS, UCLA, Caltech) conducted a continental-scale survey of seven geologically diverse seafloor seeps and found that carbonate rocks from all sites host methane-oxidizing microbial communities with substantial methanotrophic potential. In laboratory-based mesocosm incubations, chimney-like carbonates from the coast of Southern California exhibited the highest rates of anaerobic methane oxidation measured to date. After a thorough analysis of physicochemical, electrical, and biological factors, they attributed […]