A new energy source will solve China’s resource problem; or so they say. Methane hydrate, otherwise known as “fire ice”, is an ice-like structure which natural methane gas (a cleaner alternative to typical petroleums) is trapped within.
This auspicious and energy-dense solution is buried deep within Arctic permafrost and underneath ocean sediments.
It is no surprise that China, dubbed by the media an “energy superpower”, is the globe’s largest consumer of energy resources and producer of greenhouse gases. According to the US Energy Information Administration, the People’s Republic currently accounts for approximately half of the globe’s total consumption of coal; a value which is predicted to inflate with China’s average living standards and manufacturing both on the rise. Due to such predictions and knowledge that conventional sources of power such as fossil fuels are finite, China’s authorities have in recent years sought after new and promising resources which will satisfy China’s hungry demand for energy in the future.
The nation has already begun to explore some “creative” solutions to their resource dilemmas. In 2012, poultry proved itself very useful when methane, an energy-rich hydrocarbon gas, was extracted from chicken manure to generate significant amounts of electricity in the outskirts of Beijing.
While fire ice might be the less entertaining option, it remains the more promising. Although experts do not agree on exactly how much of this powerful resource is trapped in the Earth, they do agree on one thing; the amount is large and the resource’s potential is astounding. In 2010, the International Energy Agency’s World Energy Outlook estimated that the energy potential of methane hydrate equals rice the amount of the world’s gas, oil and coal resources combined. In light of such prospects, Chinese authorities responded enthusiastically to the discovery of a gas hydrate reserve the size of Sichuan province in the northern part of the South China Sea in late 2013. Meanwhile, other regions of China, such as Qilian Mountains and Qinghai province have also been proven to contain the valuable resource. It has recently been revealed that China ambitiously plans to commence commercial production of its methane hydrate deposits by 2030.
The Middle Kingdom’s neighbor, Japan, a country infamous for its large natural gas imports and multiple nuclear power crises, was the first nation in the world to successfully tap into methane hydrate deposits, n early 2013.
In light of the global resource deficiency, such baby steps are encouraging to scientists the world over, yet current available technologies are simply not advanced enough to overcome the vast challenges associated with the extraction of this material on a large and productive scale. However, a multitude of nations, including Canada, Japan and the USA, have all invested significant funds into methane hydrate related research, hoping that this will render encouraging results.
The environmental implications associated with the extraction of methane hydrates are also cause for major global concern, as the consequences of methane leaching into the Earth’s oceans or atmosphere is unknown. The fact that these hydrocarbons will produce unwanted carbon dioxide upon combustion and may damage landforms upon removal are other potential repercussions which have been highlighted by fearful scientists.
There is no denying it; methane hydrates offer a unique and promising solution to our planet’s current energy resource limitations. Still, this potentially dangerous and mysterious resource will have to be treated with the uttermost caution, especially if China, our planet’s energy superpower, is aspiring to begin extracting and employing this resource in the very near future. To those who are weary of “fire ice”, China’s relatively harmless “poultry power” must suddenly seem a whole-lot-more appealing.
