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The Energy Crisis & The Future of Energy Gases Part 3 Video. The Future of Energy Gases. Year: 1993; Sponsor: United States Geological Survey. Contributing Organization: Carnegie Mellon University, Informedia Project. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License. Digitization Date: 1996; Digitizing Organization: Carnegie Mellon University Informedia Project. Natural gas is a gaseous fossil fuel consisting primarily of methane but including significant quantities of ethane, propane, butane, and pentane—heavier hydrocarbons removed prior to use as a consumer fuel —as well as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, helium and hydrogen sulfide. It is found in oil fields (associated) either dissolved or isolated in natural gas fields (non associated), and in coal beds (as coalbed methane). When methane-rich gases are produced by the anaerobic decay of non-fossil organic material, these are referred to as biogas. Sources of biogas include swamps, marshes, and landfills, as well as sewage sludge and manure by way of anaerobic digesters, in addition to enteric fermentation particularly in cattle. Approximately 22 percent of the energy consumption of the U.S. comes from natural gas. More than 62.5 percent of the homes in the U.S. use natural gas as their main heating fuel. Natural gas is also an essential raw material for many common products, such as: paints , fertilizer, plastics, antifreeze, dyes, photographic film, medicines, and explosives. We also get propane when we process natural gas. Propane is the fuel many of us use in our barbecue grills. Natural gas has thousands of uses and industry depends on it. It's used to produce steel, glass, paper, clothing, brick, electricity and much more! Homes use it too. More than 62.5 percent of homes use natural gas to fuel stoves, furnaces, water heaters, clothes dryers and other household appliances. It is also used to roast coffee, smoke meats, bake bread and much more. Natural gas burns more cleanly than other fossil fuels. It has fewer emissions of sulfur, carbon, and nitrogen than coal or oil, and when it is burned, it leaves almost no ash particles. Being a clean fuel is one reason that the use of natural gas, especially for electricity generation, has grown so much and is expected to grow even more in the future. Of course, there are environmental concerns with the use of any fuel. As with other fossil fuels, burning natural gas produces carbon dioxide which is a very important greenhouse gas. Many scientists believe that increasing levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere are changing the global climate. Also, as with other fuels, natural gas also affects the environment when it is produced, stored and transported. Because natural gas is made up mostly of methane (another greenhouse gas), small amounts of methane can sometimes leak into the atmosphere from wells, storage tanks and pipelines. The natural gas industry is working to prevent any methane from escaping. Exploring and drilling for natural gas will always have some impact on land and marine habitats. But new technologies have greatly reduced the number and size of areas disturbed by drilling, sometimes called "footprints." Satellites, global positioning systems, remote sensing devices, and 3-D and 4-D seismic technologies, make it possible to discover natural gas reserves while drilling fewer wells. Plus, the use of horizontal and directional drilling make it possible for a single well to produce gas from much bigger areas than in the past. Natural gas pipelines and storage facilities have a very good safety record. This is very important because when natural gas leaks it can cause explosions. Since raw natural gas has no odor, natural gas companies add a smelly substance to it so that people will know if there is a leak. If you have a natural gas stove, you may have smelled this "rotten egg" smell of natural gas when the pilot light has gone out. VIDEO crawler tractor,Pipeline Equipment, Pipeline Construction,Pipelayer,. |
