Methane is the most important component of natural gas, an important fuel and a greenhouse gas. It is an alkane with the simplest structure, which consists of a carbon platform and four hydrogen platforms. It is the simplest hydrocarbon and the main component of natural gas. Methane has a high relative abundance on the earth, which makes it a fuel with great development potential, but it is a very challenging task to collect and store gaseous methane under standard conditions.
Physical properties:
Methane is a colorless and odorless gas. The weight ratio of methane to air is 0.54, which is about half lighter than air. The solubility of methane is very small. At 20℃ and 0. 1kpa, 100 unit of water can dissolve 3 units of methane. At the same time, methane combustion will produce a bright light blue flame.
Methane can be oxidized to methanol, but generally speaking, it is very difficult to complete this chemical reaction, because generally speaking, the oxidation reaction products of methane are usually carbon dioxide and water, and it is difficult to generate methanol even if oxygen is insufficient.
Refer to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Methane