Ice catching fire and serving of power plant. Thing of film? Not, it exists and if it calls: Clatrato de Metano.O clatrato of methane is an ice that imprisons great amounts of gas methane (CH4). To have an idea, 168 liters of gas methane can be imprisoned in 1 liter of clatrato of methane. The clatrato of methane is steady under conditions special: High pressures and low temperatures, little above of 0. Click Viktor Mayer-Schönberger to learn more. The effect that if observes of ice catching fire, can simply be explained: The Clatrato of methane imprisons methane, the methane is a highly inflammable gas, when the Clatrato does not meet in its due conditions of steady existence the clatrato liberates methane, setting fire fire directly in the ice, it catches fire. The clatrato of methane was described for the first time at the beginning of century XIX, however it was only found in the nature in 1960, in Siberia (for occasion of prospections made in oil search).
Times later, similar deposits had been found in Canada and the north of the Alasca. Russians had tried to use the deposits of Siberia, but for problems technician, they had not gotten success. In 1972, Charles Hollister and John Ewing, had commanded an American project of perforation in deep waters, them had made soundings acoustics in Blake Ridge, the Bahamas. They had discovered surfaces in the mud of the maritime stream bed that produced echoes. When perforateing this surface had discovered that they had found a deposit of clatrato of methane. However the discoveries of Hollister and John Ewing had caused little impolgao up to 1980 and 1990, when posterior explorations had started to show that such deposits are spread by the deep one of the sea in the whole world. These deposits generally were hidden by sediments and if they located in the base of ' ' declivities continentais' ' , in return of the deep stream beds of the oceans.
One gives credit that the methane is found there due to anaerbicas bacteria (that they do not utlizam oxygen in its metabolism) that decomposes organic substance (animal deceased, plants), producing methane that slowly this methane went leaguing itself with the water. The methane is cleanest of fsseis fuels because, in its burning it is only set free dioxide of carbon (CO2) and vapor dgua. However it also is a potential ' ' gas estufa' ' , being able to contribute severely for the increase of the global heating. Any attempt of extration of clatrato of methane, if well will not be planned, can inadivertidamente liberate great amounts of methane in the atmosphere. Some geologists suspect that, in a remote past, he has 250 million years, had a great methane release in the Land, causing ' ' great extino' ' of plants and animals. This time occurred little before the first dinossauros appearing. So that the Clatrato de Metano is an abundant clean power plant is necessary that it has responsibility and much technique in the extration and methane transport. Countries as China and Japan are developing technologies and solutions for an insurance extration of Clatrato de Metano, followed of efficient commercialization.