Methane economy

Today, petroleum is our primary hydrocarbon feedstock. It is estimated [1] that at the beginning of 2004, worldwide reserves were 1.27 trihion barrels of oil. At current usage this supply is projected to last -50 years. The other important hydrocarbon feedstocks are coal and natural gas. Methane, CH4, is the major component of natural gas (75-90%) and as shown in Fig. 7.2, is one of the most abundant hydrocarbons on the planet and is widely distributed. Current estimates are that natural gas reserves (6,100 trillion cubic feet) are comparable to oil on an energy content basis. If the estimates of natural gas in methane hydrate deposits in the deep oceans are considered, the amount of methane on the planet could far exceed the known oil reserves Given the abundance, wide distribution, hi er hydrogen to carbon ratio and low sulfur content compared to oil and coal, methane could become the hydrocarbon feedstock of choice that could lead to a Methane Economy" for the next several decades. 

Compressed-air energy storage Corporate average fuel economy California Air Resources Board Coal-bed methane Combined cycle gas turbine Carbon/carbon dioxide capture and storage Clean development mechanism Chlorofluorocarbon Computable general equilibrium Compressed gaseous hydrogen Combined heat and power... 

Although the reaction to produce acetic acid from methane and C02 is a perfect in terms of its atom-economy, unfortunately it is not feasible on a thermodynamic basis. 

Mahmudov H.M. The forecast of methane emission in oil-gas sector of Azerbaijan. Proceedings of the Eighth Baku International Congress Energy, Ecology, Economy , June 2005 Baku pp. 548-549. 

Steam reforming of hydrocarbons has become the most widely used process for producing hydrogen. One of the chief problems In the process Is the deposition of coke on the catalyst. To control coke deposition, high steam to hydrocarbon ratios, n, are used. However, excess steam must be recycled and It Is desirable to minimize the magnitude of the recycle stream for economy. Most of the research on this reaction has focused mainly on kinetic and mechanistic considerations of the steam-methane reaction at high values of n to avoid carbon deposition ( L 4). Therefore, the primary objective of this studyis to determine experimentally the minimum value of n for the coke-free operation at various temperatures for a commercial catalyst. 

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