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Carbon dioxide and methane are mixing in the water of Lake Kivu, one of Africa’s largest lakes. As a result, the lake could unexpectedly explode, according to reports Interesting engineering.
In the past, two lakes, Nyos and Mown, have exploded, killing around 1,800 people and thousands of animals.
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Kivujärvi Limnology
Lake Kivu is much larger than the two lakes that exploded earlier. It is about 89 kilometers long, about 48 kilometers wide, and about 480 meters deep at its deepest point.
Only the water on the lake surface is mixed regularly, and at a depth of more than 60 meters, the water is still. Carbon dioxide and methane gases have dissolved in the water at a depth of more than 250 meters. Therefore, the lake has a special layered structure.
The most likely reason for the lake’s explosion hazard is its location in the East African Trench, where the African lithospheric plate splits in two.
“The lake depths contain a total of about 300 cubic kilometers of carbon dioxide and 60 cubic kilometers of methane. In addition, toxic hydrogen sulfide is bound to it,” limnologist Sergey Katsev Tell National Geographic.
Explosion Threat
The explosion could have started in different ways. Philip Mokel When the water becomes 100 percent saturated with methane, it will explode, he told National Geographic. Currently, saturation is about 60 percent.
In chemistry, a saturated solution is one in which a substance (in this case, methane) can no longer be dissolved in water.
Mokel is an engineer Hydroelectric Power Company The company has applied for a permit to recover methane from the lake and use it to generate electricity.
Another way for an explosion to occur is the mixing of lake water layers. For example, according to Katsev, an earthquake could cause this.
The consequences of the explosion would be catastrophic. According to Morkel, 2-6 billion tons of carbon dioxide would enter the atmosphere in a single day. By comparison, the entire Earth emits 38 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year.
The released gases form clouds that hang over the lake for weeks.
“The gas cloud is extremely toxic. If a person were in such a cloud, he would die within a minute,” Mokel said.
Methane recovery
The Rwandan government has authorized a company called Kivuwatt to remove methane from the lake and produce energy from it.
Rwanda’s total electricity generation capacity is 300 MW, of which 25 MW is produced using methane extracted from Lake Kivuwati. Wartsila.
Opinions differ over the safety of methane removal. Other experts say there is a high risk of lake water mixing, which could cause an explosion.
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