Chemical Concepts of Methane

Methane is a tetrahedral molecule with the chemical formula CH4 (one atom of carbon and four atoms of hydrogen). It is the simplest alkane, and is the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Earth makes it an attractive fuel. The structure of methane is illustrated in the figure below.

 

At room temperature and standard pressure, methane is a colorless, odorless gas. The familiar smell of natural gas as used in homes is achieved by the addition of an odorant, usually blends containing tert-butylthiol, as a safety measure because methane is flammable.

 

The figure above illustrated some sources of methane and how it cycle in our environment. Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Livestock and other agricultural practices also emits methane. The warm temperature and moist environments n natural wetlands are ideal for methane production. Furthermore, the burning of biomass also releases methane into the atmosphere.

The Effects of Methane to Environment

The main impact of methane is on a global scale, as a greenhouse gas. Although levels of methane in the environment are relatively low, its high “global warming potential” ranks it amongst the worst of the greenhouse gases.
Methane can traps the heat in the atmosphere up to 72 times more then carbon dioxide within a 20 year period. The good news is that methane also leaves the atmosphere within a decade. This makes for a short-lived, but intense climate changer. So methane warms the planet rapidly, but it dissipates from the atmosphere more quickly than carbon dioxide(30-95 years). However, molecule for molecule, methane is much more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere and that means it is more important for us to reduce the emmission of methane into the atmosphere.