University of Texas To Conduct Methane Study
Researchers at the University of Texas Austin were recently awarded $58 million by the Department of Energy and several other industry/research partners to conduct a study on methane gas buried deep in the Gulf of Mexico. The team hopes to gain a greater understanding of this naturally occurring gas, including deposit locations, its impact on the environment, and the best method of extraction.
According to the UT’s website, the upcoming methane study will include experts, researchers and professors from Ohio State University, Columbia University, the Consortium for Ocean Leadership, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Methane is often called “fire and ice” due to its orange-and-blue colors when burned. When exposed to freezing-cold temperatures, however, it turns into a solid, ice-like composition. The arctic is believed to hold a substantial amount of methane in the form of frozen pockets. When frozen methane melts, it transforms into a gas state, dispersing into the atmosphere.
Many environmental experts tout methane as being a clean-burning gas that emits 50% less carbon dioxide than coal.. This is in stark contrast to traditional coal-burning power plants, which are viewed as one of the biggest contributors to global climate change by the World Health Organization (WHO) and numerous other scientific organizations.
It’s unknown exactly how much methane remains trapped in the Gulf of Mexico, but researchers estimate the number to be around 7,000 trillion cubic feet. To put that number into perspective, 7,000 trillion TCF is more than 250 times more than the amount of natural gas used in the U.S. last year. If we were somehow able to harvest this gas, the U.S. would have more than enough energy to operate for decades or even centuries.
Of course, there are some major hurdles presented by the team. Whether it’s harvested from the arctic or deep under the Gulf of Mexico, it must be carefully extracted in a way that doesn’t release the trapped gas into the atmosphere. Several ideas are currently being considered, including pressure-core sampling.
Georgia Institute of Technology professor Carlos Santamarina described the importance of pressure-core sampling for this study. “The technique is like taking a specimen inside a pressure cooker from thousands of feet below sea level, and bringing it to the surface without ever depressurizing the pressure cooker. With this technology, the sediment preserves its structure and allows us to determine all the engineering properties needed for design,” said Carlos Santamarina.
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