What is a Natural Gas?
Natural gas is a gas consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons[1] (primarily ethane). It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers. Most natural gas is created by two mechanisms: biogenic and thermogenic. Biogenic gas is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs, landfills, and shallow sediments. Deeper in the earth, at greater temperature and pressure, thermogenic gas is created from buried organic material.continue..
The stock of natural gas, like other fossil-based fuels, is limited and is therefore not a renewable resource. The combustion of natural gas produces only a fraction of the nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide emissions of oil and coal, and also results in essentially no particulate matter or sulfur dioxide emissions. Natural gas therefore becomes an attractive "transition" fuel, as the energy supply moves away from polluting sources such as coal and nuclear sources and towards cleaner, renewable technologies..continue..
Natural gas prices continue their recent upward trend. High natural gas prices hurt all natural gas consumers, especially households and natural gas-intensive industry, with recent prices three to four times higher than a decade ago. Trade-exposed industry has been hurt the most. Regions of the country dependent on natural gas fired generation have experienced large increases in the cost of power..continue..
The ancient peoples of Greece, Persia, and India discovered natural gas many centuries ago. The people were mystified by the burning springs created when natural gas seeping from cracks in the ground was ignited
by lightning. They sometimes built temples around these eternal flames so they could worship the mysterious fire..continue..
by lightning. They sometimes built temples around these eternal flames so they could worship the mysterious fire..continue..
Lost in the debate over fracking and drilling to extract natural gas in the US and abroad rather than pursuing supposedly clean renewables is this: natural gas is actually greener. New Geography’s Matt Ridley starts off by asking which view homeowners would prefer — a modest gas well or a towering, noisy commercial windmill — and then explains that choosing wind means you get both (via NewsAlert):.continue..
Natural gas, because of its clean burning nature, has become a very popular fuel for the generation of electricity. In the 1970s and 1980s, the choices for most electric utility generators were large coal or nuclear powered plants. However, due to economic, environmental and technological changes, natural gas has become the fuel of choice for new power plants built since the 1990s. In fact, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that between 2009-2015, 96.65 gigawatts (GW) of new electricity capacity will be added in the U.S. Of this, over 20 percent, or 21.2 GW, will be natural gas additions. The graph below shows how, according to the EIA, natural gas-fired electricity generation is expected to account for 80 percent of all added electricity generation capacity by 2035..continue..
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