Methane Emission Calculator

The Small Percentage That Matters a Lot

Even a small percentage of natural gas passing through combustion unburned (or leaking upstream) is significant, because methane traps roughly 25 times more heat than CO2 over a 100-year horizon.

The Formula

Methane Mass = Gas Volume × Gas Density × Methane Slip%

Methane density is about 0.68 kg/m3 at standard conditions; slip percentage is typically well under 1% for modern equipment.

Worked Example

10,000 m3 of natural gas processed with 0.1% methane slip:

Methane = 10,000 × 0.68 × 0.001 = 6.8 kg

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the Natural Gas Volume processed.
Optionally adjust Methane Slip percentage (defaults to 0.1%) and Gas Density (defaults to 0.68 kg/m3).
Select Calculate to get unburned methane mass.

Related Calculations

Need this converted to CO2-equivalent? See the Greenhouse Gas Calculator, or check total gas consumption in the Natural Gas Consumption Calculator.