What is the thing which is colorless, odorless, the main component of natural gas and traps a huge amount of heat in the atmosphere?
The answer is methane or CH4.
Over a 20-year time period, methane traps about 84 times more heat than carbon dioxide (CO2), which comes from burning fossil fuels and is probably the best-known greenhouse gas of all.
The main difference between them is how long they last. On average, methane dissipates after about 12 years while CO2 continues to warm the planet for centuries.
This means that CO2 is the main contributor to climate change, but powerful methane still causes considerable devastation in its short lifetime. itResponsible for about 20-30% of global warming since the Industrial Revolution.
Where does methane come from?
methane Sometimes comes from non-human sources such as wetlands.
These habitats contain things like permafrost, which is frozen ground that is also filled with carbon from animals and plants that have died over hundreds of thousands of years.
As temperatures rise with global warming, wetland permafrost melts. Due to this, carbon, which was earlier locked in ice, comes out in the form of CO2 and methane.
But 60% of the methane that comes into the atmosphere comes from human activities. This can come from agriculture – think cow burps, farts and manure fertilizer – but also from rotting waste in landfills and the energy sector.
How does the energy sector work? Release methane?
most energetic Most of the energy consumed by humans comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.
oil and gas The energy sector is responsible for most of the methane emissions. TeaGreenhouse gases are released when companies produce, transport, and store these fossil fuels.
methane emissions may occur Happens unknowingly. For example, it often escapes into the atmosphere when equipment rusts or becomes damaged or even something as simple as a loose screw occurs.
Then The gas is flaring. That’s when operators burn the natural gas associated with oil production. sparkling Turns methane into CO2 which then escapes into the atmosphere, but raw methane can still escape during the process.
sometimes companies Release small amounts of natural gas directly into the atmosphere, a process called venting.
Operators get angry and walk out Because the relatively small amounts of gas that come out of the ground during oil extraction can be expensive to process and transport. Or they do so for safety reasons, such as to reduce dangerous pressure surges.
What can we do to reduce methane emissions?
Sometimes the solutions can be surprisingly simple. According to the International Energy Agency, oil and gas companies could cut their methane emissions by a whopping 75% if they discovered and fixed leaks. it This is really limited to updating plumbing and faulty appliances.
HeThat’s why the European Union passed a regulation last year forcing fossil fuel companies to regularly measure, report, and reduce how much methane they’re emitting. If they find any leakage, they have to fix it within 15 working days.
The rules also prohibit Flare up and out in most cases. Venting is permitted only if there is a safety emergency. Flaring can only occur if it is not technically possible to re-ground the natural gas on site or transport it elsewhere.
Edited by: Jennifer Collins