Google, lasers and methane gas...

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Sanitary Sewer systems = methane gas
 
Produced from breakdown of biological products ... just read somewhere that it is better to burn forest debris rather than let it rot as it does produce methane. Not sure about the soil benefits of rotted debris vs burning though....

Some areas recapture methane from landfills to use as an energy source but not sure what adaptations they use to do this...
 
Methane has a lower energy factor than Natural gas. I think it runs like this NG, propane, methane, as far as BTUs , Methane has always been a problem needing to be dispersed in sewer systems as it collects in pockets - can be rather exciting as in Bang, 150 lbs manhole covers flying.
 
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Methane, chemically, is CH4, one carbon atom with four hydrogens atoms attached. The C burns to CO2, the H to water. Methane is the primary constituent of "natural gas" distributed via pipelines, typically 95%, but ranging from 87 to 97%. NG also has minor amounts of ethane (C2H6) and propane (C3H8), plus trace amounts of butanes, nitrogen and a few other things. Gas out of the ground has more ethane and heavier hydrocarbons, but processing of the gas removes the bulk of that, as those compounds have higher heating values, and economics dictates removal and selling the heavier stuff separately at a higher price as LPG and other fuels.
 
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The article was poorly written, Lloyd. It described methane as 'a natural gas'. Perhaps the author didn't know that methane was the major ingredient IN Natural Gas.

These methane emission are **entirely** from leaky natural gas piping, which in the major East Coast cities is ancient, and 'too costly to repair'. The gas cos are probably waiting for Fed dollars to build out a new network....they will have to wait a while longer methinks.
 
Well that makes way more sense. I guess I figured if it leaked they fixed it because of the risk of fire but I guess that is not the case. The more you know I spose
 
Lloyd the redneck said:
Well that makes way more sense. I guess I figured if it leaked they fixed it because of the risk of fire but I guess that is not the case. The more you know I spose
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A few wisps coming out of a joint or valve here or there seldom accumulate enough gas in one spot to be a fire hazard. If it were, people would be complaining about the smell.

But combing some non-trivial percentage of all the joints, valves, etc. throughout the nation's combined piping, the total adds up. It's probably somewhere around 1-4% of the natural gas we use:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-much-natural-gas-leaks/
 
Lake Girl said:
.....Some areas recapture methane from landfills to use as an energy source but not sure what adaptations they use to do this...
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A full landfill is typically capped with a heavy impermeable liner & layers of soil. A well is drilled into the rotting garbage (but not deep enough to puncture the lower liner). The gas is collected, compressed & fed to a modified diesel engine which would spin a pump, compressor, generator, etc.
 
Lake Girl said:
Produced from breakdown of biological products ... just read somewhere that it is better to burn forest debris rather than let it rot as it does produce methane. Not sure about the soil benefits of rotted debris vs burning though....

Some areas recapture methane from landfills to use as an energy source but not sure what adaptations they use to do this...
Click to expand...
UNH Durham uses the big landfill in Rochester, NH as a source for one of the university power or heat plants
 
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