Methane hydrate

As a source of energy
Shamaya Murray
28120661
General chemistry 2
Mr. Foster
August 3, 2015

Acknowledgement
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher Mr. Foster who gave me this
topic methane hydrate as a source of energy, which also help me in doing a lot of research I also
want to thank other research who made the information more readily for me. Secondly I want to
thank the Lord for allow me healthy to be able to finish this research on time.
Thanks again to all who helped.

Introduction
Natural gas, which is predominantly methane (CH4) is recognized as clean burning and an
important bridge fuel to a future where renewable energy sources are more common. Methane
hydrate molecules of natural gas trapped in an ice-like cage of water molecules represents a
potentially vast methane resource for the world. Recent discoveries of methane hydrate in arctic
and deep-water marine environments have highlighted the need for a better understanding of this
substance as a natural storehouse of carbon and a potential energy resource.
This research aims to provide a simple but comprehensive explanation of what methane hydrate
is, where it is found, its potential as a fuel source. Methane hydrate science has advanced
steadily over the past decade, and commercial-scale production of natural gas from methane
hydrate deposits is growing more viable at each step. Experimental, modelling, and field-based
studies are underway to advance our understanding of this fascinating resource.

Methane hydrates are white, ice-like solids that consist of methane and water. The methane
molecules are enclosed in microscopic cages composed of water molecules. Methane gas is
primarily formed by microorganisms that live in the deep sediment layers and slowly convert
organic substances to methane (Ruppel 2007) . These organic materials are the remains of
plankton that lived in the ocean long ago, sank to the ocean floor, and were finally incorporated
into the sediments.
Methane hydrates are only stable under pressures in excess of 35 bar and at low temperatures.
The sea floor is thus an ideal location for their formation: the bottom waters of the oceans and
the deep seabed are almost uniformly cold, with temperatures from 0 to 4 degrees Celsius. In
addition, below a water depth of about 350 metres, the pressure is sufficient to stabilize the
hydrates. But with increasing depth into the thick sediment layers on the sea floor the
temperatures begin to rise again because of the proximity to the Earths interior. In sediment
depths greater than about 1 kilometre the temperatures rise to over 30 degrees Celsius, so that no
methane hydrates can be deposited. This, however, is where the methane formation is especially
vigorous. First, small methane gas bubbles are produced deep within the sediment. These then
rise and are transformed to methane hydrates in the cooler pore waters near the sea floor. So the
methane is formed in the deep warm sediment horizons and is converted and consolidated as
methane hydrate in the cold upper sediment layers. No methane hydrates are found in marginal
seas and shelf areas because the pressure at the sea floor is not sufficient to stabilize the hydrates.
At the bottom of the expansive ocean basins, on the other hand, where the pressure is great
enough, scarcely any hydrates are found because there is insufficient organic matter embedded in
the deep-sea sediments. The reason for this is that in the open sea the water is comparatively
nutrient poor, so that little biomass is produced to sink to the sea floor. Methane hydrates

therefore occur mainly near the continental margins at water depths between 350 and
5000 meters. For one reason, enough organic material is deposited in the sediments there, and for
another, the temperature and pressure conditions are favourable for methane to be converted to
methane hydrates.
How much methane hydrate is there? Scientific consensus currently holds that the global
quantity of methane hydrate amounts to 21 x 1015 m3. This estimate has been made
independently by (Dillion 1992) and. Other estimates, both larger and smaller from the
consensus estimate, have been made by other scientists. These lie between 1 x 1015 m3 (RaynerCanham 2006) and 139 x 1015 m3 (Gary 2008). Harvey and Huang (1995) proposed a few
estimates but chose 46 x 1015 m3 as their best one. It is likely that the global amount of methane
in gas hydrates exceeds 1015 m3 but that it is less than 1017 m3 with the actual value in the
lower or intermediate part of the range. The quantity of methane stored in the ocean seabed has
been estimated to 10,000-11,000 Gt. It is estimated that in Siberia alone there are 1,400 billion
tons of methane gas hydrates. Although there are methane deposits in Antarctica, estimation
about their quantity has not been proposed yet. There is believed to be significantly more
methane in oceanic gas hydrates than in arctic ones.
How can methane hydrate be extracted? Before anyone can cash in on the untapped potential of
methane hydrates, they will have to figure out how to extract and transport the gas affordable.
Methane hydrate can be collected by: thermal stimulator. An influx of hot water or steam
partially melts the hydrate beds in ocean sediments or in permafrost regions. The hot fluids
would be pumped down into the hydrate layers, and the liberated gas would flow to the bore hole
where they ascend through the pipe up to the surface. An advantage of this method is that it is
simple and would be conceivably easy to do. However, the major disadvantage is that heating the

fluids to pump underground would be cost prohibitive and might not reach deeper hydrate
sediments (Ruppel 2007). Another option is depressurization of hydrates in sediment beds. This
would be done by drilling deep into hydrate beds where methane can exist in the free gas stage
before being converted to hydrates. The idea here is that a change in the local pressure gradient
within the sediment beds will cause the gases to flow freely to a well head. This strategy could
be the easiest way to collect hydrate gases as the process would be self-driving, but it has the
disadvantage of being more unpredictable than any other methods. Also, the dissociation of
hydrate crystals is very endothermic having an enthalpy of dissociation value of +55KJ/mol at
273K. A depressurization so rapid could cool sediments and machinery to the point they might
freeze, clog, and malfunction (Ruppel 2007).
Over time the development of methane hydrate can play an important role in the economic
ensuring adequate future supplies of natural gas, although the extraction of methane hydrate will
be costly it has the same economic uses of natural gas such as coal crude oil etc.
There is more disadvantage of methane hydrate becoming a energy sources than benefits. Thses
disadvantages included: destabilize the hydrate and release gas to the atmosphere; technology to
extract underdeveloped; destabilization of ocean floor- landslides and climate changes.
Advantages included: 160 times more methane; combustion reaction is much cleaner; has about
80% the heat content of crude oil and reserves widely distributions across the globe.
Critique
While methane hydrate resources may appear to be an enormous boom to energy-hungry nations
like Japan, it is widely considered that developing methane hydrates could have a significantly
detrimental effect on the climate if it results in the escape of methane into the atmosphere.

Additionally, the role that methane hydrates play in stabilizing the seafloor should not be
underestimated. For example, drilling deep into oceanic deposits could impact both marine life
and the seabed, potentially causing sediment to slide down the continental slope. Some evidence
suggests that such underwater landslides have already occurred. Geologists consider that the
movement of so much sediment could also trigger tsunamis. Liquid petroleum gas is already
establish and even thou recourse might be getting limited it will be more cost effective than
methane hydrate sine the cost to extract methane hydrate is expensive.

References
Ruppel, Carolyn. Tapping Methane Hydrates for Unconventional Natural Gas. Elements; June
2007. v. 3; no.
Dillon, William. Gas (Methane) Hydrates -- A New Frontier. United States Geological Survey.
September 1992. http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/gas-hydrates/title.html
Rayner-Canham, Geoff. Overton, Tina. Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry. 4th Ed. New York:
W.H. Freeman and Company. 2006.
Garg, Sabodh K. Pritchett, John W. Katoh, Arata. Baba, Kei. Fujii, Tetsuya. A Mathmatical
model for the Formation and Dissociation of Methane Hydrates in the Marine Evnironment.
Journal of Geophysical Research, VOL. 113. 2008.