Kapoor, Dhruv
(2006)
Sources and Sinks of Methane.Future Concentrations and Impact on Global Warming.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
There has been an average increase in the surface temperature of the earth by 0.6 ± 0.2ºC over the 20th century (IPCC, 2001). This increase in the surface temperature of the earth is attributed to the increase in the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, responsible for trapping outgoing heat radiation. Industrialization and the increase in anthropogenic activities are the causes of increase of these gases.Methane (CH4) is the most important greenhouse gas after Carbon Dioxide (CO2).The increase in atmospheric CO2 can be attributed due to increase in the use of fossil fuels over the last 150 years. Methane, whose atmospheric concentrations are now nearly 2.5 times of what they were in pre-industrial times, has a variety of anthropogenic and natural sources.This work is an effort to document the anthropogenic sources of methane since 1960, namely, methane emissions form the use of fossil fuel, rice agriculture, domestic ruminants, biomass burning and waste disposal and handling. A model was created using the sources and sinks of methane and was used to predict the future concentrations of methane up to 2025 considering the atmosphere as a semi-batch reactor. Finally, this predicted concentration of methane was used to determine the surface temperature increase caused due to increase in the atmospheric methane concentrations.
Share
| Citation/Export: |
|
| Social Networking: |
|
Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
| Title | Member | Email Address | Pitt Username | ORCID |
|---|
| Committee Chair | Holder, Gerald D | | | | | Committee Member | Wender, Irwing | | | | | Committee Member | Enick, Robert M | | | |
|
| Date: |
31 January 2006 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
22 November 2005 |
| Approval Date: |
31 January 2006 |
| Submission Date: |
11 November 2005 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Swanson School of Engineering > Chemical Engineering |
| Degree: |
MSChE - Master of Science in Chemical Engineering |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
anthropogenic sources; sinks of methane; temperature effect |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-11112005-125214/, etd-11112005-125214 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 20:04 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:51 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9630 |
Metrics
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
![[feed]](/images/feed-icon-32x32.png){kind=icon}