NZ researchers trial metal-organic frameworks to capture dairy cow methane for use as gas

New Zealand researchers are testing metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs, as a way to capture methane emitted by dairy cows. The work is led by Dr Luke Liu at Victoria University and involves partners at Massey University and the MacDiarmid Institute. The team found a copper-based MOF that selectively traps methane, and they are now narrowing down about 40 candidate structures for practical trials. The idea is to install capture systems in farm dairies, where cows gather for milking, rather than trying to capture emissions from open pasture. The captured methane could potentially be used as a gas source, which matters as New Zealand faces falling natural gas supplies and rising carbon credit costs. The researchers say the economics will depend on how concentrated the captured methane is and whether the MOF materials can be made affordable at scale. This is early-stage research, not a commercial product yet. But it points to a practical angle on agricultural methane: treating it as a recoverable resource instead of only a liability. The next step is proving the capture works outside the lab and that the end use makes financial sense.