What Is The Chemical Makeup Of Natural Gas

What is natural gas?

Natural gas is a fossil energy source that formed deep beneath the world's surface. Natural gas contains many different compounds. The largest component of natural gas is marsh gas, a compound with 1 carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH_iv). Natural gas besides contains smaller amounts of natural gas liquids (NGLs, which are too hydrocarbon gas liquids), and nonhydrocarbon gases, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor. We employ natural gas as a fuel and to make materials and chemicals.

How did natural gas course?

Millions to hundreds of millions of years agone and over long periods of time, the remains of plants and animals (such as diatoms) congenital upwardly in thick layers on the world's surface and ocean floors, sometimes mixed with sand, silt, and calcium carbonate. Over time, these layers were buried under sand, silt, and rock. Force per unit area and oestrus inverse some of this carbon and hydrogen-rich textile into coal, some into oil (petroleum), and some into natural gas.

Where is natural gas found?

In some places, natural gas moved into large cracks and spaces betwixt layers of overlying rock. The natural gas found in these types of formations is sometimes called conventional natural gas. In other places, natural gas occurs in the tiny pores (spaces) inside some formations of shale, sandstone, and other types of sedimentary rock. This natural gas is referred to equally shale gas or tight gas, and it is sometimes called anarchistic natural gas. Natural gas also occurs with deposits of rough oil, and this natural gas is called associated natural gas. Natural gas deposits are institute on land, and some are offshore and deep under the ocean floor. A type of natural gas found in coal deposits is called coalbed methane.

Schematic Geology of Natural Gas Resources

Source: Adapted from United States Geological Survey factsheet 0113-01 (public domain)

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Operators preparing a hole for the explosive charges used in seismic exploration

Source: Stock photography (copyrighted)

How do we observe natural gas?

The search for natural gas begins with geologists who written report the structure and processes of the earth. They locate the types of geologic formations that are probable to contain natural gas deposits.

Geologists ofttimes employ seismic surveys on land and in the ocean to observe the right places to drill natural gas and oil wells. Seismic surveys create and measure seismic waves in the earth to become information on the geology of rock formations. Seismic surveys on country may use a thumper truck, which has a vibrating pad that pounds the basis to create seismic waves in the underlying rock. Sometimes small amounts of explosives are used. Seismic surveys conducted in the sea utilize blasts of sound that create sonic waves to explore the geology below the sea flooring.

If the results of seismic surveys indicate that a site has potential for producing natural gas, an exploratory well is drilled and tested. The results of the test provide information on the quality and quantity of natural gas available in the resource.

Drilling natural gas wells and producing natural gas

If the results from a examination well show that a geologic formation has enough natural gas to produce and brand a profit, one or more production (or development) wells are drilled. Natural gas wells can be drilled vertically and horizontally into natural gas-bearing formations. In conventional natural gas deposits, the natural gas more often than not flows easily up through wells to the surface.

In the U.s.a. and in a few other countries, natural gas is produced from shale and other types of sedimentary stone formations by forcing water, chemicals, and sand down a well under high pressure. This process, called hydraulic fracturing or fracking, and sometimes referred to as unconventional production, breaks upwards the formation, releases the natural gas from the rock, and allows the natural gas to flow to and upward wells to the surface. At the top of the well on the surface, natural gas is put into gathering pipelines and sent to natural gas processing plants.

Because natural gas is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, natural gas companies add mercaptan to natural gas to requite information technology a singled-out and unpleasant olfactory property to assistance discover leaks in natural gas pipelines. Mercaptan is a harmless chemic that smells like rotten eggs.

Natural gas is processed for sale and consumption

Natural gas withdrawn from natural gas or crude oil wells is called wet natural gas considering, along with methane, it ordinarily contains NGLs—ethane, propane, butanes, and pentanes—and h2o vapor. Wellhead natural gas may also contain nonhydrocarbons such equally sulfur, helium, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide, most of which must be removed from natural gas before it is sold to consumers.

From the wellhead, natural gas is sent to processing plants where water vapor and nonhydrocarbon compounds are removed and NGL are separated from the moisture gas and sold separately. Some ethane is often left in the candy natural gas. The separated NGLs are called natural gas constitute liquids (NGPLs), and the processed natural gas is called dry out, consumer-grade, or pipeline quality natural gas. Some wellhead natural gas is sufficiently dry and satisfies pipeline transportation standards without processing. Chemicals called odorants are added to natural gas so that leaks in natural gas pipelines tin be detected. Dry out natural gas is sent through pipelines to cloak-and-dagger storage fields or to distribution companies and so to consumers.

A generalized flow diagram of the natural gas industry from the well to the consumer.

In places where natural gas pipelines are not available to have away associated natural gas produced from oil wells, the natural gas may be reinjected into the oil-bearing germination, or it may be vented or burned (flared). Reinjecting unmarketable natural gas tin can help to maintain pressure in oil wells to amend oil production.

Coalbed methane can exist extracted from coal deposits earlier or during coal mining, and it can be added to natural gas pipelines without any special treatment.

Almost of the natural gas consumed in the United States is produced in the United States. Some natural gas is imported from Canada and Mexico in pipelines. A pocket-sized amount of natural gas is also imported as liquefied natural gas.

Last updated: December ii, 2021