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Methane Research Paper

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Methane
1. Methane was first discovered by Alessandro Volta in 1778 while on summer vacation at Lake Maggiore in Italy. He noticed large bubbles of gas coming to the surface from the stirred up sediment of the lake, when he poked the muddy bottom of the water with a stick. He collected them for further experimentation and discovered it was inflammable. He called it inflammable air from marshlands [1].
Methane is created naturally near the Earth's surface by microorganisms by the process of methanogenesis. It is produced in wetlands by the anaerobic bacterial decomposition of vegetable matter under water. Other natural sources of methane include termites (as a result of their digestive processes) [2], volcanoes, vents in the ocean floor, and …show more content…

Methane (tetrahydridocarbon, Methyl hydride, Marsh gas, Biogas, Fire Damp, R 50) is a molecule consisting of one carbon and four hydrogen atoms and its chemical formula is CH4. It is the main component of natural gas and the simplest alkane i.e. consist only of hydrogen and carbon atoms and all bonds are single bonds. It has a central Carbon atom with four Hydrogen atoms substituents located at the corners of a tetrahedron, joined by four equivalent C-H bonds. As all four substituents are the same (Hydrogen) hence the bond angles are ≈ 109.5°. Bond length is ≈ 1.09Ao [4].

3. Methane is a colorless, odourless and non-poisonous gas. Its vapors are lighter than air and is slightly soluble in water but fairly soluble in ether and alcohol [5].
Molecular Weight (lb/mol) 16.04
Critical Temp. (°F) -116.2
Critical Pressure (psia) …show more content…

Stability: Chemically, methane is very stable and remains unaffected when treated with acids (H2SO4, HNO3) and reagents like Potassium permanganate, Potassium dichromate. ii. Combustion: Methane burns in excess of air or oxygen with a pale-blue nonluminous flame to give carbon dioxide and water. As combustion reaction is highly exothermic (it gives out heat), methane is an excellent source of fuel.
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
If the oxygen supply is restricted then the combustion methane undergoes incomplete (or partial) combustion producing highly poisonous, carbon monoxide (CO) gas.
2CH4 + 3O2 → 2CO+ 4H2O iii. Substitution reactions: In a substitution reaction, one atom is swapped with another atom. These are very useful reactions in the chemical industry because they allow chemists to change one compound into something more useful, building up designer molecules like drugs. Methane reacts with chlorine (or bromine) in the presence of sunlight or a halogen-carrier to give haloalkene, in which one or more H-atoms are replaced by equal number of halogen atoms.
CH4 + Cl2 → CH3Cl + HCl
CH3Cl + Cl2 → CH2Cl2 + HCl (dichloro methane)
CH2Cl2 + Cl2 → CHCl3 + HCl (chloroform)
CHCl3 + Cl2 → CCl4 + HCl (carbon tetra

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