Researchers extract methane gas from under permafrost

Mackenzie Delta – Researchers working at the Mallik site in the Mackenzie Delta have successfully extracted methane gas from frozen gas hydrates found beneath hundreds of metres of permafrost.

Gas hydrates are a potential energy source found in permafrost environments and under the sea floor. They form when water and methane gas come together under extreme pressure and in a cold environment. The water and gas are frozen together at a molecular level. One cubic metre of gas hydrates contains 164-cubic-metres of methane gas, and 0.8 cubic metres of water.

… This is not the first time this research team has extracted methane from gas hydrates. In 2002 they drilled down at the Mallik site and heated the gas hydrates to bring methane to the surface. Using heat required a large input of energy. In this experiment they lowered the pressure of the gas hydrates. Lowering the pressure for extraction required significantly less energy than heating.

Since this is only a research project, and not a commercial venture, most of the methane was brought to the surface and burned off. There was no attempt to capture the methane.

Northern News Service