<P> Methane was discovered and isolated by Alessandro Volta between 1776 and 1778 when studying marsh gas from Lake Maggiore . It is the major component of natural gas , about 87 % by volume . The major source of methane is extraction from geological deposits known as natural gas fields , with coal seam gas extraction becoming a major source ( see Coal bed methane extraction , a method for extracting methane from a coal deposit , while enhanced coal bed methane recovery is a method of recovering methane from non-mineable coal seams ) . It is associated with other hydrocarbon fuels , and sometimes accompanied by helium and nitrogen . Methane is produced at shallow levels ( low pressure ) by anaerobic decay of organic matter and reworked methane from deep under the Earth 's surface . In general , the sediments that generate natural gas are buried deeper and at higher temperatures than those that contain oil . </P>
<P> Methane was discovered and isolated by Alessandro Volta between 1776 and 1778 when studying marsh gas from Lake Maggiore . It is the major component of natural gas , about 87 % by volume . The major source of methane is extraction from geological deposits known as natural gas fields , with coal seam gas extraction becoming a major source ( see Coal bed methane extraction , a method for extracting methane from a coal deposit , while enhanced coal bed methane recovery is a method of recovering methane from non-mineable coal seams ) . It is associated with other hydrocarbon fuels , and sometimes accompanied by helium and nitrogen . Methane is produced at shallow levels ( low pressure ) by anaerobic decay of organic matter and reworked methane from deep under the Earth 's surface . In general , the sediments that generate natural gas are buried deeper and at higher temperatures than those that contain oil . </P>
methane is produced by the decomposition of what
methane is produced by the decomposition of what
natural gas
natural gas