In the future, natural gas from rocks collected from the ocean floor and frozen soil in the Arctic can make gas for cars, applications in fireplaces and for power plants. . Government researchers are working on a report of gas called 'Hydrat', in the freezing form of natural gas that will burn when there is fire, which proves a sure promise of a source of energy. clean, plentiful and stable, never exploited.
The blocks of rock can provide a traditional source of energy for a short period of time and produce a large amount of CO2 leading to global warming, the scientists observed.
'Gas hydrate can act as a bridge to our future energy source until more clean energy sources such as hydrogen and solar energy are discovered' in cooperation. Research author Dr. Tim Collett, biologist in Denver, Colo state. Hydrate gas, known as 'burned stone', has contributed in the fight with global warming by emitting much less CO2 than other fossil gases, according to Collet. and his colleagues notes.
Last November, a team of USGS researchers including Collet announced a great breakthrough and a bridge towards the future. In a study of historical turning points, USGS researchers estimated 85.4 billion cubic meters of natural gas can be extracted from hydrate gas in northern Alaska, enough to heat more than 100 million homes in over a decade.
'It's obviously a huge energy reserve. But it is still unknown how much of this energy can actually be produced within the industry. ' Collett said. He continued, this volume depends on the ability of scientists to extract methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, from the gas hydrate form in the most efficient and cost-effective way. Scientists around the world are currently conducting research on hydrates to understand how these foreign substances can form and how it can be used to supplement coal, oil and Traditional natural gases.
Although scientists have known gas hydrates for decades, they have only recently started using it recently as an alternative energy source. Gas hydrate, also known as 'mesh form' , forms when methane gas decomposes from organic matter starting to combine with water in low temperature and high pressure. Such cold and high pressure conditions exist very deep in the ocean and below the ground in some parts of the world, including the ocean floor and icy rocks in the Arctic.
Today, researchers are looking for large reserves of gas hydrates in the world, in the US, India and Japan. Besides Alaska, the United States has huge gas hydrate reserves in the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast. More and more studies on gas hydrate across the world. Japan and India are now the countries that invest in the largest gas hydrate research programs in the world.
'Once we know more about how to find promising hydrate sources, we will know how to produce it in a safe and commercial way,' said the study's co-author. Save Dr. Ray Boswell. He manages the National Methane Hydrate R&D Program of the US National Energy Technology Research Laboratory in Morgantown, W. Va. 'Chemistry will be part of the knowledge to understand how gas hydrates react to different production methods.' One of the promising techniques for extracting methane gas from hydrate gas is to reduce that gas pressure, Boswell said. Another method is to exchange methane molecules in a 'grid' structure with CO2. In theory, workers can collect gas by using the same drilling techniques used in traditional gas and oil drilling.
In the study of methane and development agreement in 2000, the US government has used up millions of dollars, combined with private companies and universities, to search for hydrate gas as an alternative energy source. so. Scientists are particularly optimistic about huge gas hydrate reserves in Alaska and in the Gulf of Mexico. Studies are also pushing the US Department of Energy and USGS to better understand the role of gas hydrate in the natural environment and in this climate change.
'It is possible to produce hydrate gas , ' Collett said. 'But when and where we will see them depends on the needs, motivation and supply of other energy sources. In the next 5 to 10 years, research on gas hydrate will be even more developed. '
They will present gas hydrate studies in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 23, 2009 at the US National Meeting of 237 on Chemistry. Dozens of newspapers with topics are arranged according to essays within 2 days called 'Hydrates and Meshes,' March 23-24.