methane (CH4) Colorless, odorless, but flammable hydrocarbon gas that is the chief constituent (about 75 to 99 percent) of natural gas. It is non-toxic but works like an asphyxiant and is one of the major hothouse gases. Methane is converted into methanol by catalytic oxidation.
Types. Currently, there are two ways to produce nuclear energy, through the use of fission and fusion. Fission reactions are more easily controlled than fusion reactions. This is why all nuclear power plants use fission reactions to produce energy and electricity.Digital Vision./Photodisc/Getty Images. Fission. In nuclear power plants, the most widely used method to produce energy is through the use of fission.The idea of fission is to split atoms, usually uranium, in a nuclear reactor. When an atom splits, neutrons are released, the neutrons then strike other atoms and begin a chain reaction.his is why all nuclear power plants use fission reactions to produce energy and electricity. Digital Vision./Photodisc/Getty Images. Fission. In nuclear power plants, the most widely used method to produce energy is through the use of fission.
Fusion power is the generation of energy by nuclear fusion. Fusion reactions are high energy reactions in which two lighter atomic nuclei fuse to form a heavier nucleus. This major area of plasma physics research is concerned with harnessing this reaction as a source of large scale sustainable energy. There is no question of fusion's scientific feasibility, since stellar nucleosynthesis is the process in which stars transmute matter into energy emitted as radiation.