Commonly called swamp gas, is composed of carbon and hydrogen (CH4). A hydrocarbon, methane is the first of the alkanes series. It is lighter than air, colorless, odorless, and inflammable. It is present in natural gas, in gases on coal mines, in oil refinery processes, and as a product of organic matter decomposing in swamps. Is one of the main components of the atmosphere in Saturn, Neptune and Uranus. Methane can be found in the hydrogenation of carbon, on carbon dioxide, by mixing water with carbonated aluminum, and when heating sodium ethanoate with alkali. Methane is a precious fuel and used in the production of hydrogen chloride, ammonia, ethyl, and formaldehyde.

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