Materials Characterization and Spectroscopy for a Methane Abatement Catalyst
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 con...
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| Format: | Thesis |
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
2023
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/151987 |
| _version_ | 1826204058693664768 |
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| author | Wilkinson, Mollie |
| author2 | Plata, Desiree |
| author_facet | Plata, Desiree Wilkinson, Mollie |
| author_sort | Wilkinson, Mollie |
| collection | MIT |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:48:16Z |
| format | Thesis |
| id | mit-1721.1/151987 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T12:48:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1519872023-09-01T03:29:33Z Materials Characterization and Spectroscopy for a Methane Abatement Catalyst Wilkinson, Mollie Plata, Desiree Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 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. M.Eng. 2023-08-30T15:56:56Z 2023-08-30T15:56:56Z 2023-06 2023-08-09T20:46:51.652Z Thesis https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/151987 In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted Copyright retained by author(s) https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/ application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| spellingShingle | Wilkinson, Mollie Materials Characterization and Spectroscopy for a Methane Abatement Catalyst |
| title | Materials Characterization and Spectroscopy for a Methane Abatement Catalyst |
| title_full | Materials Characterization and Spectroscopy for a Methane Abatement Catalyst |
| title_fullStr | Materials Characterization and Spectroscopy for a Methane Abatement Catalyst |
| title_full_unstemmed | Materials Characterization and Spectroscopy for a Methane Abatement Catalyst |
| title_short | Materials Characterization and Spectroscopy for a Methane Abatement Catalyst |
| title_sort | materials characterization and spectroscopy for a methane abatement catalyst |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/151987 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wilkinsonmollie materialscharacterizationandspectroscopyforamethaneabatementcatalyst |