Natural Gas

By Kelsey Bowers and Alex Rowland

What is natural gas?

• Typical Composition of Natural GasoMethane - 70-90%o Ethane, Propane, and Butane - 0-20%o Carbon Dioxide - 0-8%o Oxygen - 0-0.2%o Nitrogen - 0-5%o Hydrogen sulphide - 0-5%o Rare gases A, He, Ne, Xe trace

History

• Millions and millions of years old (it’s a fossil fuel which means it is nonrenewable)

• Old civilizations saw fires coming from the earth as long ago as 1000 BC which create superstition

• Chinese began using it in 500 BC• England commercialized it in 1785• Came to America in 1816• American regulations began in 1938

So…where is it and how do we get it?

• Wherever oil is gas is• Its settles on top of oil • Advanced technology to locate it• They drill for it, but its very expensive• Purification process • How natural gas gets to us diagram

Where its located• Russia and Kazakhstan 42%• Iran 15%• Qatar 5%• Saudi Arabia 4%• Algeria 4%• Unites States 3%• Nigeria 3%• Venezuela 3%• Developing countries

Storage

• Indefinite periods of time• Underground storage facilities near market

centers• Insurance• Reliable• 3 types– Aquifers– Depleted reservoirs*– Salt deposits

UsesResidential Commercial Industrial Electrical

•Heating•Air conditioning•Water heating•Cooking•Washing and drying•Appliances

•Food service providers •Hotels•Heath care facilities•Office buildings•Space conditioning and refrigeration •Cooking•Heating

•Manufacture pulp and paper•Metals•Chemicals •Stone •Clay •Glass•Process certain foods•Treat waste materials•Dehumidification•Drying•Heating and cooling•Cogeneration•Incineration

•Power plants•Electric utilities and independent power producers

Usage

Usage • 22% of all energy used in the United States• Heats 62% of U.S. houses and it also cools some• By 2011 it will fuel more than half of the new electricity capacity• In 2007, Americans used 23.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas• There are about 64.4 residential customers and 5.3 million

commercial customers• As of 2007 there were 150,000 natural gas powered vehicles in use• More than 20.1 trillion cubic feet are produced in the U.S. that’s

about 77%• The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects the demand

for natural gas to continue to grow over the next decade • The world used 104 trillion cubic feet in 2005 and is expected to use

158 trillion cubic feet by 2030

Costs•Price includes transmission and distribution costs as well as commodity costs

•The price per kilowatt hour is 4.3 cents compared to electricity which is 11 cents per kilowatt hour •Prices are effected by:

•Improving production•Decreasing net imports•Increasing demands•Oil prices•Natural gas inventories •Weather effects

COSTS

Effects on the Environment

• Cleanest of all fossil fuels• When used in place of other fuels it reduces

carbon emissions by 50%Pollutant Natural

GasOil Coal

Carbon Dioxide 117,000 164,000 208,000

Carbon monoxide

40 33 208

Nitrogen Oxides 92 448 457

Sulfur Dioxides 1 1,122 2,591

Particulates 7 84 2,744

Mercury 0.000 0.007 0.016

*Pounds per billion Btu of energy output

Should we use it?...You decide

Pros • Ample supply• High net energy yield• Low cost• Less air pollution than other fossil

fuels• Lower carbon dioxide admissions

than other fossil fuels• Moderate environmental impact• Easily transported by pipeline • Low land use• Good fuel for fuel cells and gas

turbines

Cons• Releases carbon dioxide

when burned• Methane can leak from

pipes• Shipped oceans as highly

explosive• Sometimes burnt off

because of low prices

Sources

http://www.naturalgas.org/http://www.unctad.org/infocomm/anglais/gas/uses.htmhttp://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/

info_glance/natural_gas.htmlhttp://www.naturalgasfacts.org/http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/ieo/nat_gas.htmlhttp://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/fuels/natural_gas.htmlhttp://www.puc.state.pa.us/utilitychoice/naturalgas/

naturalgas_diagram.aspxMiller L.I/T.E. Textbook