Scientists unlock frozen natural gas

THE CANADIAN PRESS ^ | 16 Apr 2008 | THE CANADIAN PRESS

[BGHater]

’ More significant is the fact that gas hydrates concentrate 164 times the energy of the same amount of natural gas.

And gas hydrate fields are found in abundance under the coastal waters of every continent. Calculations suggest there’s more energy in gas hydrates than in coal, oil and conventional gas combined.’

Wow.

[Balding_Eagle]

Interesting what discoveries $75+ oil is bringing.

[the invisib1e hand]

Scientists unlock frozen natural gas

I gotta go unlock some ice cubes from the freezer...

[the invisib1e hand]

Interesting what discoveries $75+ oil is bringing.

slight understatement...

[decimon]

More significant is the fact that gas hydrates concentrate 164 times the energy of the same amount of natural gas.

I don't recall seeing that before. If they mean 164 times the energy per volume then piping the stuff should be more than viable.

[roaddog727]

WOW is not the word.

With this, the Arabs, and Hugo Chavez can pound sand and eat their oil. I hope that this can become economically viable.

[Reaganesque]

Ain’t Free Market Capitalism grand?

[tet68]

Scientists unlock frozen natural gas

I knew it was cold, when my farts froze.

[43north]

Just wait. The dhimms can’t wait to regulate this to the point that it will never be used. I’m sure that it will contribute terrible amounts of CO2 to Gorebull Warming.

[saganite]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvopmcc86kU

[Wally_Kalbacken]

Anyone know what the environmental impact statement process is like in Canada? Is there some exemption for experiments/exploitation that allowed this discovery?

[janetjanet998]

these can run on methane

microturbines instead of big power plants

http://www.youtube.com/Microturbine

[bpjam]

and.......the release of this stuff causes more greenhouse gases than a thousand cars......

Hopefully, we can get this crap off the ocean floor and use it instead of letting it just melt and bubble up into the atmosphere where it could warm the planet and kill all of us (just kidding, only the stupid people will die).

[djf]

Calculations suggest there's more energy in gas hydrates than in coal, oil and conventional gas combined.

Yeah. By like ten thousand times more!

[21twelve]

Actually, I seem to recall that there is some geologic record of these hydrates suddenly being released (say a submarine slide taking the cap off of one - ala Mt. Saint Helens) and causing a huge catasrophe of plant and animal life.

It would seem to me that we need to drill them to relieve the pressure so as to save Mother Earth.

[Sawdring]

Is Methane hydrate a fossil fuel or is it made by other process’?

[djf]

Fossil. Decomposition of plankton and ocean organisms in an oxygen poor environment.

[stboz]

Yeah. By like ten thousand times more!

Actually, about a factor of four.

[jas3]

I don't recall seeing that before. If they mean 164 times the energy per volume then piping the stuff should be more than viable.

Unfortunately most reporters are monkeys with nice pens.

The 164 number refers to a comparison between natural gas as a GAS and methane hydrate as a SOLID. So those #s are kinda B.S.

When natural gas is liquified at very cold temperatures, it has about 600 times the energy as natural gas per unit of volume. Of course, comparing a liquid to a gas is not fair.

Gas hyrdates contain a lot of water, but a given volume contains about 160-170 times that volume of natural gas *as a gas*. Comparing a solid to a gas is not fair either.

jas3