homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Environment


Subscriber content preview

November 14, 2012

Alaska ice tested as energy source

  • Methane hydrate looks like ice but burns like a candle if a match warms its molecules.
    • By DAN JOLING
    Associated Press

    ANCHORAGE — A half mile below the ground at Prudhoe Bay, above the vast oil field that helped trigger construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline, a drill rig has tapped what might one day be the next big energy source.

    The U.S. Department of Energy and industry partners over two winters drilled into a reservoir of methane hydrate, which looks like ice but burns like a candle if a match warms its molecules. There is little need now for methane, the main ingredient of natural gas. With the boom in production from hydraulic fracturing, the United States is awash in natural gas for the near future and is considering exporting it, but the DOE wants to be ready with methane if there's a need.


     
    . . .


    To read this story in full login or purchase a subscription.



    
    Email or user name:
    Password:
     
    Forgot password? Click here.