Methane Background Information
- What is Methane?
- Why Do We Use Methane?
- How is Methane Made?
- Where Do We Find Methane?
- Can Methane Be Dangerous?
- Does Methane Contribute to Climate Change?
What is Methane?
Methane is a gas and is made of one molecule of carbon and four molecules of hydrogen. Methane is odorless and colorless and is lighter than air.
Why Do We Use Methane?
Methane is found in natural gas that we use for energy in our homes. Besides using it for heating and cooking, some homes get their electricity from a power plant that uses natural gas to create that electricity. Some cities even have buses that run on natural gas instead of gasoline! We use methane as a source of energy because it yields about 1,000 British Thermal Units (Btu) or 252 kilocalories (kcal) of heat energy per cubic foot (0.028 cubic meters) when burned.
How is Methane Made?
Methane is made by anaerobic bacteria, which are one of the oldest life forms on earth! Before our earth had green plants, there was not much oxygen in our atmosphere. Anaerobic bacteria could survive because they could live without oxygen. They break down or digest organic material and produce gas as a waste product. This gas waste product is the natural gas we find today.
Some methane was made by anaerobic bacteria millions of years ago. An example of this is the natural gas that gas exploration companies drill for. Methane is also created every day by anaerobic bacteria. You may walk by a swamp and not know it, but methane may be leaking out! The digestive system of any cow has methane in it!
Where Do We Find Methane?
We get methane in areas where anaerobic bacteria live, areas that have very little or no oxygen. Some areas we get methane from are:
- Areas where we find natural gas and oil. Natural gas is made up of many gases, and methane makes up the largest component of natural gas. When natural gas is extracted from the earth, there are some loses of methane into the atmosphere.
- Livestock. Animals such as cows, sheep, goats, buffalo and camels have anaerobic bacteria in their digestive systems that produce large amounts of methane as a natural part of their digestive process. Methane is also produced in the decomposition of livestock manure by anaerobic bacteria.
- Landfills and dumps. When waste in our landfills decomposes, methane is produced down in the piles of waste where there is no oxygen.
- Wetlands. Wetlands such as swamps, marshy areas, rice fields, and areas where there the soil is water soaked also produce methane. This is because they provide ideal conditions for anaerobic bacteria. Wetlands have almost perfect anaerobic conditions and contain a lot of organic matter that the anaerobic bacteria like to digest.
- Oceans. Methane is made deep in the ocean by anaerobic bacteria.
Can Methane Be Dangerous?
Yes. Methane can be dangerous because the mixture of methane and air in a confined area can create explosive conditions! If the amount of methane in the air reaches 5 to 15 percent, an explosion can occur. If the amount of methane in the air increases even more, it can be flammable. Areas such as landfills have regulations to monitor the amount of methane that is in the air at all times. Higher concentrations of methane in the air can also be dangerous because there is not enough oxygen for people to breathe.
Does Methane Contribute to Climate Change?
Yes. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is second to carbon dioxide when it comes to contributing to climate change. Mostly because of human activities, our atmosphere’s methane levels have more than doubled in the last 200 years. These methane levels contribute to the greenhouse effect, which contributes to overall climate change.