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Process concepts and analysis for co-removing methane and carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Chemical Engineering, Energy Processes.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4702-8081
Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani — Goa Campus, Sancoale, Goa, 403726, India, Goa.
KTH, School of Engineering Sciences in Chemistry, Biotechnology and Health (CBH), Chemical Engineering, Energy Processes.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-4056-0454
2023 (English)In: Scientific Reports, E-ISSN 2045-2322, Vol. 13, no 1, article id 17290Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Methane is the second largest contributor to global warming after CO2, and it is hard to abate due to its low concentration in the emission sources and in the atmosphere. However, removing methane from the atmosphere will accelerate achieving net-zero targets, since its global warming potential is 28 over a 100-year period. This work presents first-of-its-kind process concepts for co-removal of methane and CO2 that combines the catalytic conversion of methane step (thermal/photo-catalytic) with CO2 capture. Proposed processes have been analyzed for streams with lean methane concentrations, which are non-fossil emissions originating in the agricultural sector or natural emissions from wetlands. If the proposed processes can overcome challenges in catalyst/material design to convert methane at low concentrations, they have the potential to remove more than 40% of anthropogenic and natural methane emissions from the atmosphere at a lower energy penalty than the state-of-the-art technologies for direct air capture of CO2.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature , 2023. Vol. 13, no 1, article id 17290
National Category
Bioenergy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-338866DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44582-wISI: 001089186400064PubMedID: 37828112Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85174152801OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-338866DiVA, id: diva2:1808535
Note

QC 20231031

Available from: 2023-10-31 Created: 2023-10-31 Last updated: 2026-02-09Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Process concepts and techno‑economic analysis for multi-greenhouse gas mitigation of methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Process concepts and techno‑economic analysis for multi-greenhouse gas mitigation of methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide
2026 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Mitigating climate change requires a diverse set of measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While the literature on carbon dioxide (CO2) abatement measures is extensive, research on the mitigation of non-CO2 GHGs is relatively limited. In particular, abatement measures for the residual emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from their largest source – agriculture – have not been adequately discussed. This thesis proposes process concepts to mitigate CH4 and N2O through catalytic conversion. These concepts were extended to include CO2 capture, and the integrated configurations were evaluated for different emission conditions. Multi-GHG mitigation of CH4, N2O, and CO2 can thereby be applied to abate the residual GHG emissions.

Two process routes based on thermal and photocatalysts were developed for CH4 mitigation. Techno-economic assessment results show that the CH4 mitigation costs in both routes are strongly dependent on inlet concentrations. Electricity and catalyst were the main cost drivers in the thermal catalytic route, while reactors have the highest cost share in the photocatalytic route. The costs can be lowered by using the catalysts that are inert to moisture.

Mitigation costs for multi-GHG mitigation are sensitive to the order of GHG mitigated in the integrated unit. The costs were lower when CO2 is mitigated first, followed by N2O and CH4. Catalysts that decompose N2O at low temperatures (< 300 °C) and are inert to other gases in the inlet stream can bring down costs in multi-GHG mitigation. These processes must be tested under field conditions to check interactions with other gases. Using renewable electricity is crucial to improve the climate effectiveness of the technology.

CH4 mitigation from agriculture promotes sustainable development goals. However, adequate policies measures are required, especially in developing countries, to support large scale deployment of these measures.

Abstract [sv]

Att begränsa klimatförändringar kräver en mångfald av åtgärder för att minska utsläppen av växthusgaser. Litteraturen om åtgärder för att reducera utsläppen av koldioxid (CO2) är omfattande men forskningen om minskning av utsläpp av andra växthusgaser är relativt begränsad. Det gäller särskilt åtgärder för att reducera restutsläppen av metan (CH4) och dikväveoxid (N2O) från deras största källa: jordbruket. Denna avhandling föreslår processkoncept för att minska CH4 och N2O genom katalytisk omvandling. Koncepten omfattar även CO2 avskiljning, och olika konfigurationer utvärderades under varierande förhållanden. Samtidig reduktion av CH4, N2O och CO2 kan på detta sätt användas för att minska restutsläpp av växthusgaser.

Två processvägar baserade på termiska katalysatorer och fotokatalysatorer utvecklades för CH4 reduktion. De tekno ekonomiska analyserna visar att kostnaderna för att reducera CH4-utsläpp i båda fallen är starkt beroende av koncentrationerna i tillflödet. Elektricitet och katalysatorer var de främsta kostnadsdrivarna i den termiska katalysvägen, medan reaktorer stod för den största kostnadsandelen i den fotokatalytiska vägen. Kostnaderna kan sänkas genom att använda katalysatorer som är okänsliga för fukt.

Kostnaderna för samtidig utsläppsreduktion av flera växthusgaser är känsliga för i vilken ordning gaserna avskiljs eller omvandlas i den integrerade enheten. Kostnaderna var lägst när CO2 avskiljs innan omvandling av N2O och CH4. Katalysatorer som kan omvandla N2O vid låga temperaturer (< 300 °C) men som inte reagerar med andra gaser i inloppsströmmen kan minska kostnaderna. De föreslagna processerna behöver testas under fältförhållanden för att undersöka interaktioner med andra gaser. Användningen av förnybar el är avgörande för att förbättra teknikens klimatprestanda.

Reduktion av CH4 från jordbrukssektorn främjar flera hållbarhetsmål. För att möjliggöra storskalig implementering krävs dock adekvata politiska styrmedel, särskilt i utvecklingsländer.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2026. p. 86
Series
TRITA-CBH-FOU ; 2026:9
Keywords
Methane mitigation, Carbon dioxide capture, Nitrous oxide mitigation, Techno-economic assessment, Multi-greenhouse gas mitigation, Metanreduktion, Koldioxidinfångning, Dikväveoxidreduktion, Teknoekonomisk analys, Multigasreduktion av växthusgaser
National Category
Chemical Engineering
Research subject
Chemical Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-376551 (URN)978-91-8106-540-4 (ISBN)
Public defence
2026-03-09, Kollegiesalen, Brinellvägen 8, https://kth-se.zoom.us/j/62434669695, Stockholm, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
Swedish Energy Agency, 50340-1StandUpThe Research Council of Norway, 328715European Commission, 101069905ÅForsk (Ångpanneföreningen's Foundation for Research and Development), 24-513
Note

QC 20260211

Embargo t.o.m. 2027-03-09 godkänt av skolchef Amelie Eriksson Karlström via e-post 2026-02-10.

Available from: 2026-02-11 Created: 2026-02-09 Last updated: 2026-03-05Bibliographically approved

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Sirigina, Devesh Sathya Sri SairamNazir, Shareq Mohd

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