{
  "abstract": "The valorization of industrial wastes into functional catalysts offers a route toward more sustainable chemical processes, particularly when the inherited complexity of the waste can be retained as a design variable. Here, coal fly ash was converted into Fe-FAU zeolite catalysts through an integrated waste-to-catalyst strategy in which the same industrial residue supplied both the framework-forming Si–Al fraction and the recoverable Fe precursor. During presynthesis acid treatment, Fe was selectively recovered as crystalline Fe(II) oxalate dihydrate, while the remaining aluminosilicate fraction was transformed into OSDA-free FAU zeolites and subsequently modified by recovered-Fe ion exchange and steaming. Using fly ashes with distinct inherited chemical environments, we show that source-dependent matrix effects govern framework evolution, acidity redistribution, Fe speciation, and catalytic behavior in N2O-assisted methane-to-methanol conversion. Isolated Fe3+-rich catalysts exhibited the highest initial methanol formation rate of 137 μmol gcat–1 h–1, but showed rapid activity loss associated with accessible acidity and coke formation. In contrast, the Ca-richer Fe-Z2 matrix moderated acid-site accessibility, favored small extra-framework Fe–oxo/hydroxo descriptors, and delivered stable methanol productivity of approximately 71.5 μmol gcat–1 h–1 with suppressed coke formation. Catalysts more susceptible to steaming-induced dealumination or Fe2O3-like aggregation showed lower sustained methanol productivity. Overall, this work links Fe recovery, OSDA-free FAU synthesis, recovered-Fe incorporation, and MTM catalysis in a single material-flow concept, demonstrating that fly ash acts not as a passive precursor but as a chemically active matrix that controls Fe-site distribution, acidity, and time-on-stream stability.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Middle East Technical University , , ,"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Süleyman Şener Akın"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Selin Cansu Gölboylu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "İlhan Duruk"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Can Barkın Dericioğlu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Bahar İpek",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0584-2296"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Burcu Akata",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4337-5537"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2k1b73fyepnqq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1021/acsomega.6c09000",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "2k1b73fyepnqq",
  "issns": [
    "2470-1343"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c09000/5457792/Valorization-of-Coal-Fly-Ash-into-Fe-FAU-Catalysts",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1604|Zeolite Catalysis and Synthesis"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223473680",
  "pdf_url": "https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsomega.6c09000",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-24",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2k1b73fyepnqq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:18:40Z",
      "native_id": "10.1021/acsomega.6c09000",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://pubs.acs.org/acsodf/article/doi/10.1021/acsomega.6c09000/5457792/Valorization-of-Coal-Fly-Ash-into-Fe-FAU-Catalysts"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1604|Zeolite Catalysis and Synthesis",
      "subfield": "inorganic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Valorization of Coal Fly Ash into Fe-FAU Catalysts: Targeted Iron Recovery and Fly Ash Matrix Effects in Methane-to-Methanol Conversion",
  "title_text": "Valorization of Coal Fly Ash into Fe-FAU Catalysts: Targeted Iron Recovery and Fly Ash Matrix Effects in Methane-to-Methanol Conversion",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:18:40Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/2k1b73fyepnqq",
  "venue": "ACS Omega",
  "versions": []
}