Natural Gas By Kelsey Bowers and Alex Rowland

What is natural gas? Typical Composition of Natural Gas o Methane % o Ethane, Propane, and Butane % o Carbon Dioxide - 0-8% o Oxygen % o Nitrogen - 0-5% o Hydrogen sulphide - 0-5% o Rare gasesA, He, Ne, Xetrace

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

Uses ResidentialCommercialIndustrialElectrical 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

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

COSTSCOSTS

Effects on the Environment Cleanest of all fossil fuels When used in place of other fuels it reduces carbon emissions by 50% PollutantNatural GasOilCoal Carbon Dioxide117,000164, ,00 0 Carbon monoxide Nitrogen Oxides Sulfur Dioxides11,1222,591 Particulates7842,744 Mercury *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 /natural_gas.html ralgas_diagram.aspx Miller L.I/T.E. Textbook