Friday is here, and the weekly 'A Taste of Science for the Weekend' column is back — issue 62.
This time: swamp gas, methanogenic bacteria, Titan, and the Gate to Hell.
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Methane is a colorless, odorless gas that makes up the primary component of natural gas (70%–90%).
It is found in enormous quantities in swamps, rice paddies, and on the ocean floor, where the remains of plants and animals are broken down by bacteria in oxygen-free (anaerobic) environments, releasing methane in the process.
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Animals and plants are made of complex organic materials that are difficult to decompose, so they break down step by step through the action of various bacteria.
In the final stage, methanogenic bacteria consume the decomposition products, extract energy from them, and release methane gas into the environment as a byproduct.
Methane is also a byproduct of food digestion in the digestive systems of animals, which is why the growing meat industry is considered a particularly significant source of pollution.
It is also emitted from landfills, where various efforts are underway to capture it and put it to commercial use.
Methane has widespread everyday applications as a fuel source for heating, industry, rocket propulsion, and as a raw material for hydrogen production.
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Liquid methane turns to gas at a temperature of minus 161 degrees.
One of Saturn's moons is Titan, where the temperature is minus 180 degrees.
At such temperatures all water turns to ice, yet methane remains liquid.
Titan is a moon rich in methane, and because the methane there is liquid, it forms a system of rivers, clouds, and methane rain — much like water does on Earth.
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In the video you can see the 'Gates of Hell' — a crater 70 meters in diameter and 30 meters deep, located near the village of Darvaza in Turkmenistan.
It was formed in 1971 during a failed attempt to drill and extract natural gas, when the ground collapsed and created the crater.
Methane is a flammable and dangerous gas.
Its greenhouse effect is significantly greater than that of carbon dioxide (84 times greater over a 20-year period), and burning it without sufficient oxygen produces toxic carbon monoxide.
To prevent the gas from leaking from the crater into the atmosphere, a decision was made to ignite it. But from that day to this, underground gas reserves have continued to feed the fire, and it has never stopped burning.
The Turkmenistan government has announced that it will attempt to extinguish the crater and stop the leak, both to protect the environment and to preserve the gas's economic value as an export resource.
Shabbat Shalom 😊
Video credit: YouTube channel Fearless & Far
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