CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they have found a powerful new tool in the fight against global warming. It’s basically cat litter.
They soaked an odor-devouring clay used in cat litter boxes in a copper solution to create a compound that they say snatches methane from passing air and turns it into carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. much less harmful.
The Department of Energy awarded researchers $2 million to design devices with the compound that can be attached to the vents of coal mines and dairy farms, which are big emitters of methane. The idea is to alter the chemistry of the emissions before they reach the open air, like a catalytic converter in a car.
The MIT researchers say their findings have the potential to greatly reduce the amount of methane in the atmosphere and slow warming temperatures on the planet. The discovery could also create another potential application for zeolite, a clay used to clean up some of humanity’s nastiest messes, from oil spills in driveways to the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. from Japan.
Zeolite’s magic is in its tiny pores, which allow it to function like a filter or a sponge, depending on the chemistry. It is used to strengthen cement, improve soil, eliminate odors, prevent fruit from ripening, and calm the stomach of cows. Keeping methane out of the atmosphere could be its biggest job yet.
They soaked an odor-devouring clay used in cat litter boxes in a copper solution to create a compound that they say snatches methane from passing air and turns it into carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. much less harmful.
The Department of Energy awarded researchers $2 million to design devices with the compound that can be attached to the vents of coal mines and dairy farms, which are big emitters of methane. The idea is to alter the chemistry of the emissions before they reach the open air, like a catalytic converter in a car.
The MIT researchers say their findings have the potential to greatly reduce the amount of methane in the atmosphere and slow warming temperatures on the planet. The discovery could also create another potential application for zeolite, a clay used to clean up some of humanity’s nastiest messes, from oil spills in driveways to the 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. from Japan.
Zeolite’s magic is in its tiny pores, which allow it to function like a filter or a sponge, depending on the chemistry. It is used to strengthen cement, improve soil, eliminate odors, prevent fruit from ripening, and calm the stomach of cows. Keeping methane out of the atmosphere could be its biggest job yet.
