The main thing in natural gas is methane. Millions of years ago, decaying remains of plants and animals piled up into thick layers. This stuff is called organic material (it was once alive). Over time, the sand/silt changed to rock, covered the organic material, and trapped it beneath the rock. Press/heat changed some of it to coal, oil, and natural gas; tiny little bubbles of odorless gas. Geologists, study the structure and processes of the Earth. They locate the types of rock that might contain gas and oil deposits. Scientists and engineers choose an area by making observations on rock samples from the earth and recording data. If the area seems promising, they start drilling. Some of these areas are on land but many are deep in the ocean. Once the gas is found, it flows up through the well to the surface of the ground and into large pipelines. By-products are separated and cleaned at a gas processing plant. Dry natural gas is also known as consumer-grade natural gas. We can also use machines called "digesters" that turn today’s organic material into natural gas. This machine replaces waiting for millions of years for the gas to form naturally. Natural gas many industrial uses, such as providing the base ingredients for such varied products as plastic, fertilizer, anti-freeze, and fabrics. It is more affordable than gasoline. Also, industry is the largest consumer of natural gas, accounting for 43 percent of natural gas use across all sectors. Natural gas is the second most used energy source in industry, trailing only electricity. Natural gas used as a transportation fuel is called compressed natural gas (CNG). That's because the gas is confined to a pressure of approximately 3,600 pounds p... ... middle of paper ... ...eate smog in places like New York City with all kinds of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere with the use of gasoline. Works Cited "EIA Energy Kids - Natural Gas." U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Web. 15 Oct. 2011. . Information, PodcastsIndustrial ServicesRate."Natural Gas Vehicles - Oklahoma Natural Gas." Oklahoma NaturalGas.Web.15Oct.2011. NaturalGas.org. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. . Hargreaves, Steve. "Natural Gas." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. . "Natural Gas and Its Uses." Welcome To The API Website. Web. 16 Oct. 2011. .
This area is known as the Permian Basin. Most of the oil is being produced from rocks
Pennsylvania, along with being rich in coal, is now receiving kudos for its participation in the production of natural gas. An article composed by Madelon...
After the oil/gas mixture is drawn from the ground, it is then stored into a storage tank and allowed to rest for a while. Then the gas is piped off to a set of distillation columns to clean up the ethane. In order to activate the chemical reaction necessary to separate the ethane, a thermal cracking unit (a sort of long heated tube) i.e. a plug flow reactor is used. After a series of distillations, ethylene exits the tube.
Natural gas extraction and consumption has risen over the past thirty years. Also known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a tremendous amount of uproar is being made in the environmental and political communities. Natural gas use is a great source of energy worldwide, only in America have we had a gold rush affect when it comes to extraction. Natural gas provides less dependence on foreign oil, less need for coal plants, and a more affordable energy source worldwide. There are many advantages to using natural gas but the way in which it is being extracted has caused many people to become sick. The detrimental environmental impacts caused by hydraulic fracturing continue to rise. Not to mention the political pull on big corporations and water quality standards. Currently in the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and the Barnett shale in Texas, the air and water quality have diminished over the past years since drilling sites ran rampant. Natural gas is natural in terms of how it came to be, but not natural in how they extract it and the problems it is causing everyone involved. To make aware the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, environmental impacts, water quality and air emissions, must be considered.
After natural gas forms, it then rises to the top of the surface through the pores spaces in the rock because of its low density compared to the surrounding rock.
Rao, Vikram. Shale Gas: The Promise and the Peril. Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI, 2012. Print.
Drilling for natural gas has been going on since the early nineteenth century and our energy consumption has increased dramatically since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. In the last few years fracking has been making headlines in the news, however not for particularly good reasons. This method has been around since the 1940’s but has gained popularity as a way of tapping natural gas in recent years due in part by the oil crisis and tensions in the Middle East. Since the U.S. has an abundance of natural gas trapped beneath its soil (Daniel 2) one may think that this is a great direction that we are headed in order to sustain our energy needs and not be dependent on foreign oil.
From the 1970s to the 1990s, pipelines became far more versatile than before. More pipelines were being used to transport natural gas, such as carbon dioxide for oil recovery and other natural gas liquids for a growing heating industry. Pipelines were being constructed to gather oil and gases more than a mile beneath the bottom of the
LNG is a clear, colorless, non-toxic liquid that can be transported and stored more easily than natural gas because it occupies up to 600 times less space. Natural gas is composed primarily of methane, but may also contain ethane, propane and heavier hydrocarbons. Small quantities of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, sulfur compounds, and water may also be found in natural gas. Nevertheless, the liquefaction process is also beneficial in the other way by removing some of the non-methane components such as water and carbon dioxide from the produced natural gas to prevent them from forming solids when gas is cooled to about LNG temperature or cryogenic temperature. Besides, harmful and corrosive acid gases will also be removed to ensure pipeline and facilities integrity and to avoid difficulties downstream.
Coalification, the geologic process that progressively converts plant material to coal, generates large quantities of natural gas, which are subsequently stored in the coal seams. The increased pressures from water in the coal seams force the natural gas to adsorb to the coal. The natural gas consists of approximately 96 percent methane, 3.5 percent nitrogen, and trace amounts of carbon dioxide (U.S. EPA, 2004a). Also known as Coal bed methane (CBM), CSG is released by removing water from the stratum which reduces the pressure on the coal seam (Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation QLD, 2012).
Gas shales are fine grained, organic rich sedimentary rock. Exploitation of shale deposits proceeds through the discovery stage, drilling and reservoir evaluation to production. Shale gas is a dry gas composed of 90% methane, produced from shale formations that functions as both source for the gas and reservoir. Shale plays has low permeability that limit the flow of gas. Natural gas in shale deposits is held in unconnected pores and natural fractures. The classification of shale as unconventional is as a result of it low permeability.
must be removed prior to most uses. Natural gas is emerging as the most important
Did you know that Natural gas powers more than 150,000 vehicles in the United States and about 15.2 million vehicles worldwide. Natural gas is hailed as cleaner than most other fossil fuels. Natural gas in vehicles emits 22% fewer greenhouse gases than diesel and 29% fewer than conventional gasoline. 40% of new garbage trucks and 25% of new buses in the United States could run on natural gas. Another Good thing, natural gas is cheaper. Natural gas vehicles are better than other types of vehicles because the safety is better, it is efficient, and it’s similar to driving a gasoline-powered car.
Firstly, geochemists, according to Prospects, study the amount and distribution of chemical elements in rocks and minerals. Geochemists also study the movement of those elements into soil and water systems. The main purpose of geochemistry is to help guide oil exploration, help improve water quality, and develop plans to clean up toxic waste sites. Many of the typical work activities that geochemists take part in are analyzing the age, nature, and components of rock, soil and other environmental samples, conducting sample tests and checks, including gas chromatography, carbon and isotope data, and viscosity and solvent extraction. Most average geochemists are employed by oil and gas companies, consultant firms, and education institutions.