Methane

➖ A greenhouse gas, which is also a component of natural gas

➖ Second-most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, after carbon dioxide

➖ It’s presence in the atmosphere increases Earth’s temperature

Various sources of methane including human and natural sources.

🔺 Human sources of methane include landfills, oil and natural gas systems, agricultural activities, coal mining, wastewater treatment, and certain industrial processes.

🔺 Oil and gas sectors are among the largest contributors to human sources of methane.

🔺 Human sources (also referred to as anthropogenic sources) of methane are responsible for 60% of global methane emissions come primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, decomposition in landfills and the agriculture sector.

➖ Methane is held underground within the coal and is extracted by drilling into the coal seam and removing the groundwater.

➖ The resulting drop in pressure causes the methane to be released from the coal.

➖ Coalbed methane (CBM), like shale gas, is extracted from what are known as unconventional gas reservoirs — where gas is extracted directly from the rock that is the source of the gas (shale in case of shale gas and coal in case of CBM).