Methane-absorbing Zeolite

Zeolite is a clay with absorbing properties and is commonly used in cat litter. When zeolite particles are treated with copper and heated to around 300 degrees Celsius, they can capture methane from the air. This material then traps and converts methane into carbon dioxide. If half of the atmospheric methane would go through this process, it would only add about 0.2 percent of today's atmospheric CO2 while reducing radiative warming by 16 percent.

Methane-absorbing zeolites can also work on low concentrations of methane, even small fractions of 1%, which most methods cannot remove, and do so in the air, at low temperatures, and low-cost, significant advantages for real-world deployment.

The whole process could consist of industrial arrays with electrical fans that force air through tumbling chambers or reactors full of powdered or pelletized zeolites and other catalysts. Such structure could be promising when incorporated into places that often contain concentrated pockets of methane, such as coal mines and dairy barns.