Fueled Ice Will Be The Energy Of The Future: China Has Finally Extracted This New Source

Celebrating A Lot, China Is The First Nation To Extract The So-Called “Combustible Ice” In Ultra-Deep Waters In May

China has just earned the title of the first nation to extract natural gas from ice in deep and ultra-deep waters. Affectionately nicknamed “combustible ice,” this new resource is already considered the energy of the future, despite many entities warning about the consequences of this type of extraction.

Incessantly for about 8 days of work in May, China managed to capture 8,350 cubic meters per day of this new type of fuel, says Chinese Minister Jiang Daming. He further endorses that the country will finally experience a “true energy revolution.”

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The head of China’s Ministry of Geology, Li Jinfa, concluded that the stocks of combustible ice in its waters amount to 80,000 tons of oil, which would meet the country’s energy demands for about 20 years or more.

But After All, How Is It Possible To Extract Fuel From Ice?

It turns out that combustible ice is a substance made up of water and natural gas. It is found only in cold, deep marine waters.

Discovered for the first time in the former Soviet Union in the 1960s, this type of fuel literally takes the form of ice, but when melted and relieved of pressure, the water is removed, releasing the natural gas. It has been produced for thousands of years by the excrement of bacteria living in the depths of the oceans or in permafrost (permanently frozen soil).

There are various types of combustible ice, but China has been successful with the methane hydrate, which is currently the most abundant.

The Efe research institution states that this type of fossil fuel is a clean and abundant source, and the current challenge is to develop technology capable of extracting it on a large scale and in a commercially viable way.

                                                               Combustible Ice

Interested and Uninterested Parties

Naturally, China and Japan are very interested for two simple reasons: They have colossal energy consumption but very few energy sources, depending heavily on other countries to meet their nations’ energy demands, but they hope to turn this situation around as soon as possible.

Still, there are questions and fears because the kind of impact this type of large-scale extraction would have on the environment is unknown.

Methane has a very high explosion potential, which is indeed an unprecedented risk! Stronger than carbon dioxide, this gas could also have a significant impact on global warming.

The Chinese government stated that it will prioritize environmental preservation. Li Jinfa mentioned that it makes no sense for Eastern countries to come with “talk or pressures” that impede the project, as this would be hypocrisy, since Western countries consume about 40% of fossil fuels in the world, and many of them have already experienced accidents, spilling oil into the sea and destroying marine life, even human life.