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Harmful emissions in the kitchen: Gas stoves emit methane even when they are off

2022-01-27T11:04:26.372Z


Scientists have examined the emissions from gas stoves in the USA and found that dangerous or climate-damaging pollutants are sometimes emitted.


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Part of the gas appears to be released unburned from gas stoves

Photo: Angelika Warmuth / picture alliance / dpa

Apparently, gas stoves in apartments emit greenhouse gases and pollutants that harm the climate and human health.

This is the result of a new study published in the journal "Environmental Science & Technology".

Gas is constantly escaping from lines and fittings

To do this, scientists from Stanford University measured the emissions from cooktops and ovens, which generate heat by burning natural gas, in 53 homes in the United States.

They analyzed gas leakage at different stages of use - when the device is off and not in use, when it is on and burning gas, and in the transitional stages between ignition and gas extinction.

more on the subject

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The result of the investigation: More than three quarters of the methane emissions were generated when the device was switched off.

The odorless and colorless gas escaped from leaking gas fittings, connections and pipes.

Methane - a hydrocarbon with the molecular formula CH4 - is the main component of natural gas.

And is considered to be very harmful to the climate: over a period of one hundred years, methane has a 28 times stronger greenhouse effect than CO₂, over 20 years the effect is 86 times stronger.

That is why methane – despite a lower concentration in the atmosphere than CO₂ – has been responsible for around 25 percent of global warming since the beginning of industrialization.

Experts assume that the average global temperature expected for 2040 could be reduced by 0.3 degrees Celsius if methane emissions could be reduced by 45 percent by 2030.

As harmful as 500,000 cars

The scientists estimated the amount of unburned methane emitted by a gas stove at 0.8 to 1.3 percent of the gas that they consume in total.

How bad is that for the climate?

According to the study: "Assuming a 20-year time frame for methane, the annual methane emissions from all gas stoves in US homes have a climate impact comparable to the annual carbon dioxide emissions from 500,000 cars."

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In addition to methane emissions, the researchers also measured emissions of other pollutants.

They found that the gas stoves in 32 households emitted nitrogen oxides into the air.

These substances can cause respiratory diseases.

The nitrogen oxide emissions only came from the combustion of gas.

The scientists involved therefore called for kitchens with gas stoves to be well ventilated and extractor hoods to be used.

Otherwise, for example, the limit value for exposure to nitrogen dioxide could be exceeded within a few minutes of using the stove, especially in small kitchens.

In the USA there is a natural gas stove in more than 40 million households – and thus in more than a third of all US households.

Gas stoves are much less common in this country.

It is not yet clear to what extent the results of the study can be transferred to Germany.

vki

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2022-01-27

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