COGA | The Combustion of Methane

When methane gas (CH4) combines with oxygen (O2) they combust to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) and
water (H2O). We write the balanced chemical equation for this reaction as:
CH4 (g) + 2O2(g) CO2(g) + 2H2O(l) + Energy
Source: Virtual Chembook, Elmhurst College

Using this equation, we can find how much product (CO2 and H2O) are produced for some input of reactant
(CH4 and O2). We are interesting in knowing specifically how much water is produced for some input of
methane gas. Since pounds, cubic feet, and gallons are more difficult units to work with than Metric units,
we will start with grams and moles and convert at the end to Standard units.
Stoichiometry
Below are the stoichiometry calculations showing how many grams of water is produced from 1 gram of
methane.
This table lays out a visual way to think about stoichiometry problems. The orange arrows show the flow of
our calculations, starting with our input of 1.00 gram of CH4.

Equation
Mass (g)
Molar Mass
(g/mol)
Moles

Reactants
+

CH4
1.00 g
16.042 g/mol

Products
CO2
+
2H2O
2.25 g
18.015 g/mol

2O2

.062336 mol

2
1

.12467 mol

We start with 1.00g of CH4. We need to convert this quantity into moles so we know how many moles we
have available to react. We convert using the molar mass of CH4.
1.00g/(16.042 g/mol) = .042336 mol of CH4 (in 1 gram)
We need to take into account the coefficient of H2O when we react our .042336 mol of CH4.
(.042336 mol CH4)*2 = .12467 mol H2O
1660 Lincoln St., Suite 2710, Denver, CO 80261 Phone: 303.861.0362 Fax: 303.861.0373 www.COGA.org
2012-06-25

To convert moles of H2O back into a mass measurement we use the molar mass of H2O.
.12467 mol*(18.015g/mol) = 2.25 g H2O
Since grams are not the best unit of measurement for the quantities of CH4 and H2O that a gas well
produces, we want to upscale our input and convert to pounds and gallons. To do this, we will need several
conversions listed below.
Conversions
1g = .0022 lb
3785.4118 g = 1 gal
Density of water @ STP: 1g/cm^3

1lb = 453.59237 g
L = G*3.785 L/G
1000cm^3 = 1000mL = 1L

We will follow the same stoichiometry calculations as we did with 1 gram of CH4, but now with 1 pound of
CH4. We use the same calculation pattern as above:
453.59237 g/(16.042 g/mol) = 28.275 moles of CH4 in 1 pound of CH4
28.2758 mol*(2) = 56.5506 mol H2O
56.5506 mol*(18.015 g/mol) = 1018.759 g H2O
1018.759 g/(453.59237 g/lb) = 2.246 lb H2O, rounded to 2.25 lb
From the calculations we find that 1 lb of CH4 combusts with O2 to yield 2.25 lb of H2O.
Since a volume measurement of H2O is easier to interpret than pounds of water, we want to convert our 2.25
lb yield of H2O into gallons.
1020.9 g/(1g/cm3) = 1020.9 cm3 = 1020.9 mL = 1.0209 L
3.785 L/gal/(1.0209 L) = 3.70751, rounded to 3.71 gallons H2O
Every pound of methane burned yields 3.7 gallons of water.
Increasing the Scale
For usefulness, we can do the same calculations on a much larger scale. If we start with an initial volume of
CH4, how much H2O will the reaction produce? How much water is produced from the combustion of 1
BCF of methane?
Conversions
Density CH4: 0.66kg/m3
1 CF = 0.028316847 m3
1 kg = 2.204062292 lb
H2O 1 gal = 8.3453 lb
1660 Lincoln St., Suite 2710, Denver, CO 80261 Phone: 303.861.0362 Fax: 303.861.0373 www.COGA.org
2012-06-25

1,000,000,000 ft3*(0.028316847 m3/ft3) = 28,316,847 m3 CH4

28,316,847 m3*(0.66kg/m3) = 18,689,119 kg CH4 This is our initial weight of CH4 from 1 BCF.
18,689,119 kg/(0.016042 kg/mol) = 1.165e9 mol CH4
1.165e9*(2) = 2,330,023,560 mol H2O
2,330,023,560 mol *(0.018015 kg/mol) = 41,975,374.4 kg H2O produced
So with an input of 1 BCF of methane, we can produce almost 42 million kilograms of water. For practical
use, we can convert our kilograms of H2O into pounds and gallons as shown below.
41,975,374.4 kg*(2.20462292 lb/kg) = 92,539,859.9 lb H2O
92,539,859.9 lb/(8.3453 gal/lb) = 11,088,859.6 gal H2O
Over 11 million gallons of water are added to the atmosphere from burning 1 BCF of methane gas.
Summary
One molecule of methane combusts with two molecules of oxygen to produce one molecule of carbon
dioxide and two molecules of water.
CH4 (g) + 2O2(g) CO2(g) + 2H2O(l)
We can quantify how much water is produced in this reaction using stoichiometry and a lot of conversions!
Our calculations show the combustion of 1 pound of methane results in the production 3.71 gallons of water
and that 1 BCF of methane produces over 11 million gallons of water.
We can now apply this ratio to any initial input of methane to calculate the output of water from a given
natural gas well.
Assumptions
Since volume and weight are not interchangeable measurements, we must use the density of the compound
when converting between them. Density of a compound generally varies with temperature and pressure, so
all calculations here are done at standard conditions for temperature and pressure (STP). For reference, STP
is at a temperature of 273.15K (0 C, 32 F) and a pressure of 1 bar (0.989 atm).
The temperature and pressure may vary at the site of combustion. If a temperature and pressure are known,
the above calculations can be followed using the accurate density for those conditions.
Other gases (ethane, propane, pentane) may be present in a well. These calculations only consider the
combustion of methane with oxygen.
1660 Lincoln St., Suite 2710, Denver, CO 80261 Phone: 303.861.0362 Fax: 303.861.0373 www.COGA.org
2012-06-25

Assumption: 1.5L or .053 ft^3 contains 1 g of CH4 (which is ~.0022 lbs)

For 1 g CH4: 1g/(16.042g/mol) = .062336 mol
2(.062336mol) = .124673 mol H2O
.124673mol*18.015g/mol = 2.24598g H2O (for every 1 g of CH4)

1660 Lincoln St., Suite 2710, Denver, CO 80261 Phone: 303.861.0362 Fax: 303.861.0373 www.COGA.org
2012-06-25