18 Facts About Methane

Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula .

Methane is a tetrahedral molecule with four equivalent C–H bonds.

Methane is an odorless gas and appears to be colorless.

Methane is used as a fuel for ovens, homes, water heaters, kilns, automobiles, turbines, etc.

Methane decomposition is a promising route for low-emission hydrogen production since no direct carbon emissions are produced unlike steam methane reforming.

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Methane can be produced by hydrogenating carbon dioxide through the Sabatier process.

Methane is a side product of the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide in the Fischer–Tropsch process, which is practiced on a large scale to produce longer-chain molecules than methane.

Methane can be produced by protonation of methyl lithium or a methyl Grignard reagent such as methylmagnesium chloride.

Methane was discovered and isolated by Alessandro Volta between 1776 and 1778 when studying marsh gas from Lake Maggiore.

Methane is produced at shallow levels by anaerobic decay of organic matter and reworked methane from deep under the Earth's surface.

Methane is generally transported in bulk by pipeline in its natural gas form, or by LNG carriers in its liquefied form; few countries transport it by truck.

Methane is an important greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 34 compared to CO2 over a 100-year period, and 72 over a 20-year period.

Methane clathrates are solid cages of water molecules that trap single molecules of methane.

Methane is abundant in many parts of the Solar System and potentially could be harvested on the surface of another solar-system body, providing fuel for a return journey.

Methane has been detected on all planets of the Solar System and most of the larger moons.

Methane has been proposed as a possible rocket propellant on future Mars missions due in part to the possibility of synthesizing it on the planet by in situ resource utilization.

Methane could be produced by a non-biological process called serpentinization involving water, carbon dioxide, and the mineral olivine, which is known to be common on Mars.

Methane demonstrated that the gas could be ignited with an electric spark.