Materials Characterization and Spectroscopy for a Methane Abatement Catalyst

Abstract

Methane is the second-most emitted greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, and it is significantly more powerful as a short-term warmer, making it a valuable target for climate change mitigation efforts. Zeolites are earth-abundant minerals common in catalysis for their low price combined with high conversion and throughput potential. This study evaluates a specific copper-zeolite (mordenite) methane oxidation catalyst for long-term durability and potential performance at 400 and 950 C. Using materials characterization and spectroscopy techniques including scanning-electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis (BET), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), chemical and structural changes are tracked, identified, and assessed over the course of three months. Samples treated at 400 °C show no major structural or chemical changes in the catalyst, while samples treated at 950 °C show gradual transformation into a nonporous quartz-mullite-cristobalite mixture. This suggests indefinite catalyst stability at the former temperature and progressive catalyst degradation at the latter temperature, providing plausible long-term operation conditions and peak temporary conditions for this method of methane abatement.