Methane is a
chemical compound with the
chemical formula . It is the simplest
alkane, and the principal component of
natural gas. Methane's bond angles are 109.5 degrees.
Burning methane in the presence of
oxygen produces
carbon dioxide and water. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive
fuel. However, because it is a
gas at
normal temperature and pressure, methane is difficult to transport from its source. In its natural gas form, it is generally transported in bulk by
pipeline or
LNG carriers; few countries transport it by truck.
Methane was discovered and isolated by
Alessandro Volta between 1776 and 1778 when studying marsh gas from
Lake Maggiore.
Methane is a relatively potent
greenhouse gas with a high
global warming potential of 72 (averaged over 20 years) or 25 (averaged over 100 years).
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Methane in the atmosphere is eventually oxidized, producing carbon dioxide and water. As a result, methane in the atmosphere has a
half life of seven years.
The abundance of methane in the Earth's atmosphere in 1998 was 1745 parts per billion, up from 700 ppb in 1750. Methane can trap about 20 times the heat of CO
2. In the same time period, CO
2 increased from 278 to 365 parts per million. The
radiative forcing effect due to this increase in methane abundance is about one-third of that of the CO
2 increase. In addition, there is a large, but unknown, amount of methane in
methane clathrates in the ocean floors. The Earth's
crust contains huge amounts of methane. Large amounts of methane are produced
anaerobically by
methanogenesis. Other sources include
mud volcanoes, which are connected with deep geological faults,
landfill and livestock (primarily
ruminants) from
enteric fermentation.
Global warming has the potential to trigger the release of large amounts of methane, currently stored as
methane clathrates and further cause
Arctic methane release from permafrost.
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