From climate-warming pollutant to useful material

Although it is less abundant than carbon dioxide, methane gas contributes disproportionately to global warming. Its molecular structure of single carbon atoms bound to four hydrogen atoms makes it a potentially useful building block for products that could keep this carbon out of the atmosphere, but it’s hard to get it to react with other molecules under ordinary conditions.

Now a catalyst designed by MIT chemical engineer Michael Strano and colleagues could help solve that problem.

The catalyst has two components. The first, a mineral called a zeolite, converts methane to methanol. The second, a natural enzyme called alcohol oxidase, converts the methanol to formaldehyde. With the addition of urea, a nitrogen-containing molecule found in urine, the formaldehyde can be turned into a polymer used in particleboard, textiles, and other products.

The researchers say this catalyst could act to seal cracks in pipes transporting natural gas, a common source of methane leakage. It could also be used to coat surfaces that are exposed to methane gas, producing polymers that could be collected for use in manufacturing.

“Other systems operate at high temperature and high pressure,” says MIT postdoc Jimin Kim, lead author with Daniel Lundberg, PhD ’24, of a paper on the work. That takes money and energy. But, she says, “I think our system could be very cost-effective and scalable.”