Editing Chloromethane (section)

==Occurrence==
Chloromethane is an abundant [[organohalogen]], anthropogenic or natural, in the atmosphere.  Natural sources produce an estimated 4,100,000,000 kg/yr.<ref>{{cite book|title=Naturally Occurring Organohalogen Compounds|editor=
Kinghorn, A. Douglas. |editor2=Falk, Heinz |editor3=Gibbons, Simon |editor4=Asakawa, Yoshinori |editor5=Liu, Ji-Kai |editor6=Dirsch, Verena M. |publisher=Springer Nature|location=Switzerland|year=2023|
isbn= 978-3-031-26629-4|author=Gribble, Gordon|series=Progress in the Chemistry of Organic Natural Products }}</ref>
===Marine===
Laboratory cultures of marine [[phytoplankton]] (''Phaeodactylum tricornutum'', ''Phaeocystis'' sp., ''Thalassiosira weissflogii'', ''Chaetoceros calcitrans'', ''Isochrysis'' sp., ''Porphyridium'' sp., ''Synechococcus'' sp., ''Tetraselmis'' sp., ''Prorocentrum'' sp., and ''Emiliana huxleyi'') produce CH<sub>3</sub>Cl, but in relatively insignificant amounts.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Scarratt MG, Moore RM| year = 1996 | title = Production of Methyl Chloride and Methyl Bromide in Laboratory Cultures of Marine Phytoplankton | journal = Mar Chem | volume = 54 | pages = 263–272 | doi = 10.1016/0304-4203(96)00036-9 | issue = 3–4| bibcode = 1996MarCh..54..263S }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Scarratt MG, Moore RM| year = 1998 | title = Production of Methyl Bromide and Methyl Chloride in Laboratory Cultures of Marine Phytoplankton II | journal = Mar Chem | volume = 59 | pages = 311–320 | doi = 10.1016/S0304-4203(97)00092-3 | issue = 3–4| bibcode = 1998MarCh..59..311S }}</ref> An extensive study of 30 species of polar macroalgae revealed the release of significant amounts of CH<sub>3</sub>Cl in only ''Gigartina skottsbergii'' and ''Gymnogongrus antarcticus''.<ref>{{cite journal | author = Laturnus F | year = 2001 | title = Marine Macroalgae in Polar Regions as Natural Sources for Volatile Organohalogens | journal = Environ Sci Pollut Res | volume = 8 | pages = 103–108 | doi = 10.1007/BF02987302 | pmid = 11400635 | issue = 2| bibcode = 2001ESPR....8..103L | s2cid = 570389 }}</ref>

===Biogenesis===
The [[salt marsh]] plant ''[[Batis maritima]]'' contains the enzyme [[methyl chloride transferase]] that catalyzes the synthesis of CH<sub>3</sub>Cl from S-adenosine-L-methionine and chloride.<ref name=Ni >{{cite journal |vauthors=Ni X, Hager LP| year = 1998 | title = cDNA Cloning of ''Batis maritima'' Methyl Chloride Transferase and Purification of the Enzyme | journal = Proc Natl Acad Sci USA | volume = 95 | pages = 12866–71 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.95.22.12866 | pmid = 9789006 | issue = 22 | pmc = 23635| bibcode = 1998PNAS...9512866N | doi-access = free }}</ref> This protein has been purified and expressed in ''[[E. coli]]'', and seems to be present in other organisms such as white rot fungi (''[[Phellinus pomaceus]]''), red algae (''[[Endocladia muricata]]''), and the ice plant (''[[Mesembryanthemum crystallinum]]''), each of which is a known CH<sub>3</sub>Cl producer.<ref name=Ni/><ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ni X, Hager LP| year = 1999 | title = Expression of ''Batis maritima'' Methyl Chloride Transferase in ''Escherichia coli'' | journal = Proc Natl Acad Sci USA | volume = 96 | pages = 3611–5 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.96.7.3611 | pmid = 10097085 | issue = 7 | pmc = 22342| bibcode = 1999PNAS...96.3611N | doi-access = free }}</ref>

===Sugarcane and the emission of methyl chloride===
In the sugarcane industry, the organic waste is usually burned in the power [[cogeneration]] process. When contaminated by chloride, this waste burns, releasing methyl chloride in the atmosphere.<ref name="RefF">{{cite journal |title= Global chlorine emissions from biomass burning: Reactive Chlorine Emissions Inventory |journal= Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |volume= 104 |pages= 8373–8389 |last1= Lobert |first1= Jurgen |last2= Keene |first2=Willian |last3= Yevich |first3=Jennifer |doi=10.1029/1998JD100077 |year=1999 |issue= D7 |bibcode=1999JGR...104.8373L|doi-access= free }}</ref>

===Interstellar detections===
Chloromethane has been detected in the low-mass Class 0 protostellar binary, [[IRAS 16293-2422|IRAS 16293'''–'''2422]], using the [[Atacama Large Millimeter Array]] (ALMA). It was also detected in the comet [[67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko]] (67P/C-G) using the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) instrument on the [[Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta]] spacecraft.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1732e/ |title = ALMA and Rosetta Detect Freon-40 in Space}}</ref> The detections reveal that chloromethane can be formed in [[Star forming region|star-forming regions]] before planets or life is formed.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

[[File:ALMA and Rosetta Detect Freon-40 in Space.jpg|thumb|left|Chloromethane has been detected in space.<ref>{{cite web|title=ALMA and Rosetta Detect Freon-40 in Space - Dashing Hopes that Molecule May be Marker of Life|url=https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1732/|website=eso.org|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref>]]