Natural gas

Natural gas is a fossil fuel formed when layers of buried plants, gases, and animals are exposed to intense heat and pressure over thousands of years. The energy that the plants originally obtained from the sun is stored in the form of chemical bonds in natural gas. Natural gas is a nonrenewable resource because it cannot be replenished on a human time frame.[1] Natural gas is a hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly includes varying amounts of other higher alkanes and even a lesser percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen sulfide.[2] Natural gas is an energy source often used for heating, cooking, and electricity generation. Natural gas is found in deep underground rock formations or associated with other hydrocarbon reservoirs in coal beds and as methane clathrates. Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, it must be processed to remove impurities, including water, to meet the specifications of marketable natural gas. Sources[edit]

Compressed natural gas Blue diamond symbol used on CNG-powered vehicles in North America Green bordered white diamond symbol used on CNG-powered vehicles in China Compressed natural gas (CNG) (Methane stored at high pressure) can be used in place of gasoline (petrol), Diesel fuel and propane/LPG. CNG combustion produces fewer undesirable gases than the fuels mentioned above. It is safer than other fuels in the event of a spill, because natural gas is lighter than air and disperses quickly when released. CNG may be found above oil deposits, or may be collected from landfills or wastewater treatment plants where it is known as biogas. CNG is made by compressing natural gas (which is mainly composed of methane, CH4), to less than 1 percent of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. The cost and placement of fuel storage tanks is the major barrier to wider/quicker adoption of CNG as a fuel. Uses[edit] Cars[edit] CNG pumps at a Brazilian gasoline fueling station Locomotives[edit] Advantages[edit]

History of manufactured gas Drawing the retorts at the Great Gas Establishment Brick Lane, from The Monthly Magazine (1821) The history of manufactured gas, important for lighting, heating, and cooking purposes throughout most of the nineteenth century and the first half of the 20th century, began with the development of analytical and pneumatic chemistry in the eighteenth century. The manufacturing process for "synthetic fuel gases" (also known as "manufactured fuel gas", "manufactured gas" or simply "gas") typically consisted of the gasification of combustible materials, usually coal, but also wood and oil. The coal was gasified by heating the coal in enclosed ovens with an oxygen-poor atmosphere. The fuel gases generated were mixtures of many chemical substances, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide and ethylene, and could be burnt for heating and lighting purposes. Many other manufactured fuel gas utilities were founded first in England, and then in the rest of Europe and North America in the 1820s.

Coal gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous fuels produced for sale to consumers and municipalities. Coal gas contains a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen. Prior to the development of natural gas supply and transmission—during the 1940s and 1950s in the United States and during the late 1960s and 1970s in Great Britain—virtually all gas for fuel and lighting was manufactured from coal. Originally created as a by-product of the coking process, its use developed during the 19th and early 20th centuries tracking the industrial revolution and urbanization. Manufacturing processes[edit] Gas Works Park, Seattle, preserves most of the equipment for making coal gas. Gas for industrial use[edit] Manufacture[edit]

Biogas Gases produced by decomposing organic matter Biogas is a gaseous renewable energy source[1] produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste, wastewater, and food waste. Biogas is produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic organisms or methanogens inside an anaerobic digester, biodigester or a bioreactor.[2] The gas composition is primarily methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulfide (H2S), moisture and siloxanes. The methane can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen. This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel; it can be used in fuel cells and for heating purpose, such as in cooking. After removal of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide it can be compressed in the same way as natural gas and used to power motor vehicles. Production[edit] Biogas is produced by microorganisms, such as methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria, performing anaerobic respiration.

Shall Gas (Natural Gas - Wikipedia) Crystallized natural gas — hydrates (Natural Gas - Wikipedia) Mid-stream natural gas (Natural Gas - Wikipedia) Power Generation (Natural Gas - Wikipedia) Domestic Use (Natural Gas - Wikipedia) Transportation Use of Natural Gas (Natural Gas - Wikipedia) Fertilizer Feedstock (Natural Gas - Wikipedia) Aviation Use of Natural Gas (NG Wikipedia) Hydrogen Production (Natural Gas - Wikipedia)