What do we know about hydrocarbons? Well, perhaps something from the school curriculum in chemistry, and the word “methane” periodically flickering in the media ... What do we know about natural gas, besides its explosive properties? What is the use of natural gas besides the well-known cooking and heating of residential buildings? What's new in the world of energy consumption and energy security?
Basic properties
To begin with, the well-known phrase about the smell of gas in an apartment or on the street is not entirely correct. Natural gas, which is supplied to our apartments for cooking or for heating water, has neither taste nor smell. What we perceive is nothing but a special additive necessary to detect gas leaks. This is the so-called odorant, it is added at specially equipped stations in the following proportions: 16 mg per one thousand cubic meters of gas.
The main component of natural gas, of course, is methane. Its content in the gas mixture is about 89-95%, the remaining components are butane, propane, hydrogen sulfide and the so-called impurities - dust and non-combustible components, oxygen and nitrogen. The percentage of methane depends on the type of field.
The energy of natural gas released during the combustion of one cubic meter of fuel is called the calorific value. This value is one of the initial in all matters of designing gas facilities, and in different countries various values are taken as a basis. In Russia, the calculation is based on the lower calorific value, in Western countries, such as France and the UK, the highest.
Speaking about the explosiveness of natural gas, it is worth mentioning such concepts as explosion limits and hazardous concentrations. Gas explodes when its concentration in the room is from 5 to 15% of the volume. If the concentration is lower, the gas does not burn, if the concentration is more than 15%, then the air-gas mixture burns with an additional air supply. Dangerous concentration is called 1/5 of the lower explosive limit, that is, 1%.
Basics types and uses of natural gas
Butane and propane have been used as fuel for cars (liquefied gas). Propane is also used to refuel lighters. Ethane is used extremely rarely as a fuel, since it is a raw material for the production of polyethylene. Acetylene is extremely flammable and is used in welding and cutting metals. The use of natural gas, or more precisely, methane, we have already discussed, it is used as combustible fuel in stoves, columns and boilers.
Varieties of natural gas produced
By type of gas produced, the fields are divided into gas or associated. The main difference between them is the percentage of hydrocarbons. In gas fields, the methane content is about 80-90%, in associated, or, as they are also called, “oil”, its content is not more than 50%. The remaining 50% is propane-butane and oil separated from the gas. One of the biggest disadvantages of gas from a associated field is its mandatory purification from various impurities. The production of natural gas is also associated with the extraction of helium. Such deposits are quite rare; helium is considered the optimal gas for cooling nuclear reactors. Sulfur released from hydrogen sulfide produced as an admixture of natural gas is also used for industrial purposes.
The main tool in the extraction of natural gas is a drilling rig. This is a four-legged tower about 20-30 meters high. A pipe with a drill at the end is suspended from it. This pipe increases as the depth of the well increases; during drilling, a special fluid is added to the well so that the destructible rocks do not clog it.
This liquid is supplied using special pumps. Naturally, the cost of natural gas includes the costs of operating and constructing gas production wells. From 40 to 60% of the cost are exactly the cost.
How does gas come to us?
So, having left the place of production, the purified natural gas enters the first compressor station, or, as it is also called, the head one. It is located most often in the immediate vicinity of the field. There, with the help of installations, high-pressure gas enters the main gas pipelines. Booster compressor stations are installed to maintain a given pressure on the main gas pipelines. Since the laying of pipes with this category of pressure inside the cities is prohibited, a branch is installed in front of each large city. It already, in turn, does not increase, but lowers pressure. Part of it is consumed by large gas consumers - industrial enterprises, factories, boiler houses. And the other part goes to the so-called hydraulic fracturing - gas distribution points. There the pressure drops again. Where is the use of natural gas most familiar and understandable to us? These are burner hobs.
How long has he been with us?
The active use of natural gas dates back to the mid-19th century, after the invention of the gas burner. Moreover, the initial use of it is not quite familiar to us now. At first it was used to illuminate the streets.
In the Soviet Union until the end of the 30s of the last century, an independent gas industry did not exist. Gas deposits were discovered by chance, only during the exploration of oil wells. Active use of natural gas began from the time of World War II. The lack of fuel, due to the loss of part of the coal and oil fields, gave a powerful impetus to the development of the gas industry. After the war ended, the gas industry was actively developing and gradually became one of the most energy-efficient.
There is no alternative
Perhaps the best evidence of the benefits of natural gas as the most convenient source of energy is Moscow’s indicators. The gas connection allowed saving one million cubic meters of firewood, 0.65 million tons of coal, 150 thousand tons of kerosene and almost the same amount of heating oil per day . And all this was replaced by 1 million cubic meters. m of gas. This was followed by a gradual gasification of the whole country and the search for new deposits. Later, huge gas reserves were found in Siberia, which are still in operation today.
Industrial use
The use of natural gas is not limited only to cooking - although indirectly, it is used to supply heat to residential buildings. Most large city boiler houses in the European part of Russia use natural gas as the main fuel.
Also, natural gas is increasingly used in the chemical industry as a raw material for the production of various organic substances. An increasing number of automotive giants are developing cars using alternative fuels, including hydrogen and natural gas.
Only gas is to blame
From an environmental point of view, natural gas can be called one of the safest types of fossil fuels. However, the incorporation of gas into many spheres of human life and subsequent combustion led to a manifold increase in the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere. Otherwise, this process is called the greenhouse effect. And this extremely negatively affects the climate of our planet. However, new technologies and the level of production have recently reduced the level of air emissions to the maximum. Recall that gas is one of the safest types of fuel.