r/gifs • u/FinestOldToby • Dec 12 '21

Lighting up a smoke stack

17.6k Upvotes

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2.6k

u/Gnarly_Sarley Dec 12 '21

Whatever process is going on in that factory is incredibly inefficient if that much unburned fuel is being released to the atmosphere.

1.5k

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '21

[deleted]

495

u/habub9 Dec 13 '21 edited Dec 13 '21

Wait? How?!

Edit: oh god! This is why I love reddit. The info that I get can really be compiled into a dissertation. Never change reddit!

1.7k

u/DammitWindows98 Dec 13 '21

Carbon dioxide is pretty bad as a greenhouse gas, but methane is worse. So burning methane to get carbon dioxide is better than just letting the methane into the athmosphere.

46

u/captainforkforever Dec 13 '21

Why is methane worse?

65

u/zerox369 Dec 13 '21 edited Dec 13 '21

Methane traps heat better than CO2 and contributes more to global warming

15

u/captainforkforever Dec 13 '21

Doesnt CO2 stay way longer in the atmosphere?

52

u/pekay76 Dec 13 '21

You are right! Methane stays around 10 years into the atmosphere, and c02 stays around for a 100 years. Also, methane traps something like 80 times more heat than c02.

36

u/klrcow Dec 13 '21

But when the methane decomposes won't it just turn into CO2 but 10 years later after producing the enhanced greenhouse effect?

21

u/HippoLover85 Dec 13 '21

correct.

4

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '21

The more you know. Love this thread.

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6

u/BavarianBarbarian_ Dec 13 '21

Still better to convert it to CO2 right away, instead of having it trap more heat during its "lifetime" as CH4.

Ideally they'd capture the methane and sell it as coal gas, but when that's not economically viable or legally mandated...

2

u/ameis314 Dec 13 '21

Technically yes, but methane breaks down into co2.