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Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is a methane-consuming microbial process occurring in anoxic marine and freshwater sediments. AOM is known to occur among mesophiles , but also in psychrophiles , thermophiles , halophiles , acidophiles , and alkophiles . [ 1 ]
[5]: 82 Methane's radiative forcing (RF) of climate is direct, [6]: 2 and it is the second largest contributor to human-caused climate forcing in the historical period. [6]: 2 Methane is a major source of water vapour in the stratosphere through oxidation; [7] and water vapour adds about 15% to methane's radiative forcing effect. [8]
These other organisms that utilize methane for energy are known as methanotrophs ('methane-eating'), and are the main reason why little methane generated at depth reaches the sea surface. [43] Consortia of Archaea and Bacteria have been found to oxidize methane via anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM); the organisms responsible for this are ...
Some organisms can oxidize methane, functionally reversing the process of methanogenesis, also referred to as the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). Organisms performing AOM have been found in multiple marine and freshwater environments including methane seeps, hydrothermal vents, coastal sediments and sulfate-methane transition zones. [8]
Some specific methanotrophs can reduce nitrate, [19] nitrite, [20] iron, [21] sulfate, [22] or manganese ions and couple that to methane oxidation without syntrophic partner. Investigations in marine environments revealed that methane can be oxidized anaerobically by consortia of methane oxidizing archaea and sulfate-reducing bacteria.
Methane has a limited atmospheric lifetime, about 10 years, due to substantial methane sinks. The primary methane sink is atmospheric oxidation, from hydroxyl radicals (~90% of the total sink) and chlorine radicals (0-5% of the total sink). The rest is consumed by methanotrophs and other methane-oxidizing bacteria and archaea in soils (~5%). [7]
The oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) is a potential chemical reaction studied in the 1980s for the direct conversion of natural gas, primarily consisting of methane, into value-added chemicals. Although the reaction would have strong economics if practicable, no effective catalysts are known, and thermodynamic arguments suggest none can exist.
Understanding the role of • HO in the oxidation process of methane (CH 4) present in the atmosphere to first carbon monoxide (CO) and then carbon dioxide (CO 2) is important for assessing the residence time of this greenhouse gas, the overall carbon budget of the troposphere, and its influence on the process of global warming.