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How does methane combustion produce carbon dioxide and water vapour?

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natural gas The Troll A natural gas production platform in the North Sea, 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Bergen, Norway. Troll A, the largest movable structure ever built, rests on the seafloor some 300 metres (990 feet) below the surface and rises more than 100 metres (330 feet) above the sea. The platform regulates the recovery of gas from 40 wells located on the seafloor.

Methane ( $C H_{4}$ ) is a hydrocarbon that serves as the primary component of natural gas. When methane undergoes combustion in the presence of air, it reacts with oxygen to release heat and produce carbon dioxide ( $C O_{2}$ ) and water vapour ( $H_{2} O$ ).123

This process occurs because the carbon and hydrogen atoms within the methane molecule break their bonds and recombine with oxygen atoms from the air. As a class of compounds, all alkanes (the series of hydrocarbons to which methane belongs) burn in air to yield these same two products. While this exothermic reaction makes methane a highly effective fuel, it also results in the emission of carbon dioxide, which is a significant greenhouse gas.324

It is important to note that if the supply of air is limited during combustion, the reaction may be incomplete, leading to the production of carbon black instead of fully oxidizing the carbon into carbon dioxide.24