ID :
161351
Wed, 02/16/2011 - 05:30
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http://m.oananews.org//node/161351
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Japanese Discover New Mineral Containing Natural Gas Molecules
Tokyo, Feb. 16 (Jiji Press)--A new mineral containing natural gas molecules has been discovered at the site of a disused quarry in Minamiboso in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, Japanese researchers said Wednesday.
The mineral, dubbed "chibaseki" in Japanese, has been given the scientific name "chibaite," approved by the International Mineralogical Association.
The group of researchers, including members of Japan's National Institute for Materials Science and Tohoku University, has published an article on the newly discovered mineral in the online version of British journal Nature Communications.
Chibaseki, the sixth mineral to be named after a Japanese prefecture, has a similar crystal structure to methane hydrates, sherbet-like substances made of methane trapped in water ice.
Unlike methane hydrates, which are also known as "fire ice," the new mineral is not a source of energy. But its rarity makes it extremely valuable, experts say.
Sand and stones made of the mineral, including transparent crystals, will be exhibited at the Natural History Museum and Institute of Chiba from Wednesday.
Chibaseki was first discovered in 1998 by amateur mineral expert Chibune Honma, a 63-year-old resident of Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture. He found white crystals he did not know and showed them to the museum.
In 2007, Katsumi Nishikubo, a 49-year-old resident of Ichikawa helped elucidate the mineral's structure by discovering transparent crystals.
NIMS researcher Koichi Monma, the lead author of the article, said the geological stratum that contained chibaseki is believed to have been about 2-3 kilometers below the seabed some 18 million years ago.
This was close to the boundary of two tectonic plates, where methane and propane were broken down and trapped inside the cage-like crystal structures of chibaseki.
Methane hydrates are made of cage-like structures composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, while chibaseki and other silica minerals are made of oxygen and silicon atoms.
Chibaseki is also a type of silica clathrate. So is a yet unnamed mineral that was discovered alongside it.
Previously, only one of three theoretically existing silica clathrates had been discovered. But the discovery of the two minerals in Japan has confirmed the existence of the other two.
The mineral, dubbed "chibaseki" in Japanese, has been given the scientific name "chibaite," approved by the International Mineralogical Association.
The group of researchers, including members of Japan's National Institute for Materials Science and Tohoku University, has published an article on the newly discovered mineral in the online version of British journal Nature Communications.
Chibaseki, the sixth mineral to be named after a Japanese prefecture, has a similar crystal structure to methane hydrates, sherbet-like substances made of methane trapped in water ice.
Unlike methane hydrates, which are also known as "fire ice," the new mineral is not a source of energy. But its rarity makes it extremely valuable, experts say.
Sand and stones made of the mineral, including transparent crystals, will be exhibited at the Natural History Museum and Institute of Chiba from Wednesday.
Chibaseki was first discovered in 1998 by amateur mineral expert Chibune Honma, a 63-year-old resident of Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture. He found white crystals he did not know and showed them to the museum.
In 2007, Katsumi Nishikubo, a 49-year-old resident of Ichikawa helped elucidate the mineral's structure by discovering transparent crystals.
NIMS researcher Koichi Monma, the lead author of the article, said the geological stratum that contained chibaseki is believed to have been about 2-3 kilometers below the seabed some 18 million years ago.
This was close to the boundary of two tectonic plates, where methane and propane were broken down and trapped inside the cage-like crystal structures of chibaseki.
Methane hydrates are made of cage-like structures composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, while chibaseki and other silica minerals are made of oxygen and silicon atoms.
Chibaseki is also a type of silica clathrate. So is a yet unnamed mineral that was discovered alongside it.
Previously, only one of three theoretically existing silica clathrates had been discovered. But the discovery of the two minerals in Japan has confirmed the existence of the other two.
