New technology could improve environmental benefits of natural gas usage

One of the key factors in natural shale gas extraction opposition could be dealt with through the development of new technology. Fears over methane leaks have led many to voice concerns over the environmental issues that fracking for natural gas could cause, but new laser technology could mean that any methane leaks can be identified and dealt with early on. Ultimately this could mean that extracting shale gas is safer and more environmentally beneficial.

Researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia, are working on a laser system that can monitor for methane leaks over large areas. The technology could be used to monitor for methane leaks at the extraction site, in gas pipelines and at storage facilities; helping companies to better understand how and why methane leaks.

Methane is the main component of natural shale gas and is 25 times more damaging to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide when released in its uncombusted form. Some research has suggested that the rate at which methane can leak during fracking - hydraulic fracturing, the method used for gas extraction - and during the storage of the gas, could negate the environmental benefits of using the gas as an alternative to coal.

The new technology has been used in a preliminary study and is currently being developed further, it is said to have the potential to measure the rate of methane leakage from long-distance. This includes animal methane production as well as from natural gas. The lasers used are not visible to the human eye and cause no adverse environmental effects.

Doctor David Ottaway, senior lecturer in the School of Chemistry and Physics, said: "Methane is a very important gas in terms of climate change. It absorbs radiation, which warms the atmosphere, at a rate more than 20 times larger than that of carbon dioxide. This technology has great potential to help reduce our methane emissions from gas pipeline leaks or from coal seam gas operations, and may be important for monitoring agricultural emissions over time."