What are gas hydrates?
Gas hydrates are a crystalline solid formed of water and gas. It looks and acts much like ice, but it contains huge amounts of methane; it is known to occur on every continent; and it exists in huge quantities in marine sediments in a layer several hundred meters thick directly below the sea floor and in association with permafrost in the Arctic. It is not stable at normal sea-level pressures and temperatures, which is the primary reason that it is a challenge to study.
Gas hydrates are important for three reasons:
- They may contain a major energy resource
- It may be a significant hazard because it alters sea floor sediment stability, influencing collapse and landsliding
- The hydrate reservoir may have strong influence on the environment and climate, because methane is a significant greenhouse gas.
The Indian Coast of India, including Cochin, has found huge gas emissions to
meet the demand for the country for 300 years. According to the US Geological
Survey, there are about 130 trillion cubic feet of hydrogen gas reserves in the Cochin
Thiram, Krishna-Godavari basin and Cauvery basin.
Hydrate gas can also be used for automobiles as well as fuel for automobiles in
addition to the gas needed for homes and commerce and industry. India's energy
consumption is just six per cent of the gas.
Hydrate natural gas (gas hydrate) can be formed in the form of ice in the ocean
floor. Gas reserves of natural gas in hydroelectricity are also in the US. It is learned
that in India the new find. This technology has not yet been developed for commercial
production. This is going to work in the US, Japan and Canada.
ONGC said Panel will set up a special center for researching natural gas hydrate in
Mumbai. Chairman Shashi Shankar said. This will accelerate rapidly with the
discovery of hydraulic gas reserves in the country including Kochi.