Atmospheric Removal of Methane by enhancing the natural hydroxyl radical sink

Abstract

According to the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), currently, global warming due to methane (CH4) alone is about 0.5°C while due to carbon dioxide (CO2) alone is about 0.75°C. As CH4 emissions will continue growing, in order to limit warming to 1.5˚C, some of the most effective strategies are rapidly reducing CH4 emissions and developing large scale CH4 removal methods. The aim of this review article is to summarise and propose possible methods for atmospheric CH4 removal, based on the hydroxyl radical (°OH), which is the principal natural sink of many gases in the atmosphere and on many water surfaces. Inspired by mechanisms of °OH generation in the atmosphere and observed or predicted enhancement of °OH by climate change and human activities, we proposed several methods to enhance the °OH sink by some physical means using water vapour and artificial UV radiation.