Wednesday, March 25, 2009

'Ice That Burns' May Yield Clean, Sustainable Bridge To Global Energy Future

Gas hydrates, known as "ice that burns," may provide a clean, sustainable fuel source in the future. (Credit: J. Pinkston and L. Stern/US Geological Survey)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Mar. 24, 2009) — In the future, natural gas derived from chunks of ice that workers collect from beneath the ocean floor and beneath the arctic permafrost may fuel cars, heat homes, and power factories. Government researchers are reporting that these so-called "gas hydrates," a frozen form of natural gas that bursts into flames at the touch of a match, show increasing promise as an abundant, untapped source of clean, sustainable energy.

The icy chunks could supplement traditional energy sources that are in short supply and which produce large amounts of carbon dioxide linked to global warming, the scientists say.*

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