Methane hydrates located in permafrost, continental shelves and under sea floors are a potentially promising energy source. Methane hydrates look and form like ice, but they can be lit on fire. The utilization of methane hydrates to produce energy would provide a significant benefit to the environment and the economy. There have been two main methods that successfully extracted these hydrates. Depressurization, which is drilling a pipe down to the deposits causing the hydrates to dissociate and flow up the pipe as a gas that can be used as energy. Thermal injection pumps hot water into the deposit causing it to destabilize. A proposed third method, which has only been experimented in labs, appears to be promising. In this method carbon dioxide is injected into the hydrate formation, displaces the methane, and buries carbon dioxide, the abundant greenhouse gas. The map provided shows the areas on the planet that contain methane deposits, many of which are located around North America which would provide us with an extreme economic advantage if production is developed commercially.
References:
Popular mechanics: methane hydrates. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/earth/2558946.html
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