Guess what? The Earth does produce abiotic methane. It can be found in minute quantities along the world’s mid-ocean ridges, venting from some volcanoes, and in some mine shafts. The amount of methane generated in these situations is minor, especially when compared to commercial natural gas reserves. As stated in part 2 of this series (and elsewhere), there is more methane produced annually from cow farts than from abiotic sources. No scientist has ever denied the existence of abiotic methane. We have said that there is no evidence that it is produced in useful quantities, and we have stated that abiotic generation of simple hydrocarbons such as methane does not indicate abiotic production of the complex hydrocarbons we refer to as crude oil…
A group of scientists from the University of Toronto has analyzed abiotic methane taken from a mineshaft in the Canadian Shield…The carbon and hydrogen isotopic profiles of these samples finally gave us the fingerprint for abiotic hydrocarbons…
The study found no significant presence of abiotic hydrocarbons in commercial natural gas reserves. We cannot hope for depleted natural gas reserves to be replaced by abiotic hydrocarbons generated within the Earth. While the abiotic generation of simple hydrocarbons within the Earth has been proven, the production is very minor-especially in comparison with commercial natural gas reserves and the world demand for natural gas. There is no free lunch.
See also Link
Related Leave a Comment
No comments yet.