10/11/2016

Hownaturalgasismadematerial,history,used,processing,components,composition,structure,steps,industry,History

MadeHow(/index.html) / Volume6(index.ht / NaturalGas

NaturalGas
Like

Share 24peoplelikethis.SignUptoseewhatyourfriendslike.

OASISwellscreens

IndustrialStorageTank

PremiumwaterwellscreensSGS/BVinspectedacceptat
anytimeGotooasiswellscreens.com

StorageTankforPropane(LPG)ContactusGoto
trinitymexico.com

Background
Naturalgasisamixtureofcombustiblegasesformedundergroundbythedecomposition(/knowledge/Decomposition.html)oforganicmaterialsinplant
andanimal.Itisusuallyfoundinareaswhereoilispresent,althoughthereareseverallargeundergroundreservoirsofnaturalgaswherethereislittleorno
oil.Naturalgasiswidelyusedforheatingandcooking,aswellasforavarietyofindustrialapplications.

History
Naturalgaswasknowntoearlymanintheformofseepagesfromrocksandsprings.Sometimes,lightningorothersourcesofignitionwouldcausethese
gasseepagestoburn,givingrisetostoriesoffireissuingfromtheground.Inabout900B.C.naturalgaswasdrawnfromwellsinChina.Thegaswas
burned,andtheheatwasusedtoevaporateseawaterinordertoproducesalt.Bythefirstcentury,theChinesehaddevelopedmoreadvancedtechniques
fortappingundergroundreservoirsofnaturalgas,whichallowedthemtodrillwellsasdeepas4,800ft(1,460m)insoftsoil.Theyusedmetaldrillingbits
(/knowledge/Drill_bit.html)insertedthroughsectionsofhollowedoutbamboopipestoreachthegasandbringittothesurface.
TheRomansalsoknewaboutnaturalgas,andJuliusCaesar(/knowledge/Julius_Caesar.html)wassupposedtohavewitnesseda"burningspring"near
Grenoble,France.ReligioustemplesinearlyRussiawerebuiltaroundplaceswhereburningnaturalgasseepagesformed"eternalflames."
IntheUnitedStates,thefirstintentionaluseofnaturalgasoccurredin1821whenWilliamHartdrilledawelltotapashallowgaspocketalongthebankof
CanadawayCreeknearFredonia,NewYork.Hepipedthegasthroughhollowedlogstoanearbybuildingwhereheburneditforillumination.In1865,the
FredoniaGas,Light,andWaterworksCompanybecamethefirstnaturalgascompanyintheUnitedStates.Thefirstlongdistancegaspipelineran25mi
(40km)fromagasfieldtoRochester,NewYork,in1872.Ittoousedhollowedlogsforpipes.ThedevelopmentoftheBunsenburner
(/knowledge/Bunsen_burner.html)byRobertBunsenin1885ledtoaninterestinusingnaturalgasasasourceofheatingandcooking,inadditiontoitsuse
forlighting.In1891,ahighpressuregasdepositwastappedincentralIndiana,anda120mi(192km)pipelinewasbuilttobringthegastoChicago,
Illinois.
Despitetheseearlyefforts,thelackofagooddistributionsystemfornaturalgaslimiteditsusetolocalareaswherethegaswasfound.Mostofthegasthat
cametothesurfaceaspartofoildrillinginmoreremoteareaswassimplyventedtotheatmosphereorburnedoffingiantflaresthatilluminatedtheoil
fieldsdayandnight.Bythe1910s,oilcompaniesrealizedthatthispracticewascostingthempotentialprofitsandtheybegananaggressiveprogramto
installgaspipelinestolargemetropolitanareasacrosstheUnitedStates.Itwasn'tuntilafterWorldWarIIthatthispipelineprogramhadreachedenough
citiesandtownstomakenaturalgasanattractivealternativetoelectricityandcoal.
By2000,therewereover600naturalgasprocessingplantsintheUnitedStatesconnectedtomorethan300,000mi(480,000km)ofmaintransportation
pipelines.Worldwide,therearealsosignificantdepositsofnaturalgasintheformerSoviet(/knowledge/Soviet_Union.html)Union,Canada,China,andthe
ArabianGulfcountriesoftheMiddleEast.

RawMaterials
Rawnaturalgasiscomposedofseveralgases.Themaincomponentismethane.Othercomponentsincludeethane,propane,butane,andmanyother
combustiblehydrocarbons.Rawnaturalgasmayalsocontainwatervapor,hydrogensulfide,carbondioxide,nitrogen(/knowledge/Nitrogen.html),and
helium.
Duringprocessing,manyofthesecomponentsmayberemoved.Somesuchasethane,propane,butane,hydrogensulfide,andheliummaybepartially
orcompletelyremovedtobeprocessedandsoldasseparatecommodities.Othercomponentssuchaswatervapor,carbondioxide,andnitrogenmay
beremovedtoimprovethequalityofthenaturalgasortomakeiteasiertomovethegasovergreatdistancesthroughpipelines.
Theresultingprocessednaturalgascontainsmostlymethaneandethane,althoughthereisnosuchthingasa"typical"naturalgas.Certainother
componentsmaybeaddedtotheprocessedgastogiveitspecialqualities.Forexample,achemicalknownasmercaptanisaddedtogivethegasa
distinctiveodorthatwarnspeopleofaleak.

TheManufacturingProcess
http://www.madehow.com/Volume6/NaturalGas.html

1/4

10/11/2016

Hownaturalgasismadematerial,history,used,processing,components,composition,structure,steps,industry,History

Themethodsusedtoextract,process,transport,store,anddistributenaturalgasdependonthelocationandcompositionof
therawgasandthelocationandapplicationofthegasbytheendusers.Hereisatypicalsequenceofoperationsusedto
producenaturalgasforhomeheatingandcookinguse.

Extracting
1Someundergroundnaturalgasreservoirsareunderenoughinternalpressurethatthegascanflowupthewellandreach
Earth'ssurfacewithoutadditionalhelp.However,mostwellsrequireapumptobringthegas(andoil,ifitispresent)tothe
surface.Themostcommonpumphasalongrodattachedtoapistondeepinthewell.Therodisalternatelypulledupwardand
plungedbackintothewellbyabeamthatslowlyrocksupanddownontopofaverticalsupport.Thisconfigurationisoften
calledahorseheadpumpbecausetheshapeofthepullingmechanismontheendoftherockingbeamresemblesahorse's
head.
2Whentherawnaturalgasreachesthesurface,itisseparatedfromanyoilthatmightbepresentandispipedtoacentralgas
processingplantnearby.Severalhundredwellsmayallfeedintothesameplant.

Processing
3About75%oftherawnaturalgasintheUnitedStatescomesfromundergroundreservoirswherelittleornooilispresent.
Thisgasiseasiertoprocessthangasfromoilwells.Regardlessofthesource,mostrawnaturalgascontainsdirt,sand,and
watervapor,whichmustberemovedbeforefurtherprocessingtopreventcontaminationandcorrosion
(/knowledge/Corrosion.html)oftheequipmentandpipelines.Thedirtandsandareremovedwithfiltersortrapsnearthewell.
Thewatervaporisusuallyremovedbypassingthegasthroughatowerfilledwithgranulesofasoliddesiccant,suchas
aluminaorsilicagel,orthroughaliquiddesiccant,suchasaglycol.Afterithasbeencleanedanddried,therawgasmaybe
processedfurtheroritmaybesentdirectlytoacompressorstationandpumpedintoamaintransportationpipeline.
4Iftherawnaturalgascontainsalargeamountofheavierhydrocarbon(/knowledge/Hydrocarbon.html)gases,suchas
propaneandbutane,thesematerialsareremovedtobesoldseparately.Themostcommonmethodistobubbletherawgas
upthroughatall,closedtowercontainingacoldabsorptionoil,similartokerosene.Asthegascomesincontactwiththecold
oil,theheavierhydrocarbongasescondenseintoliquidsandaretrappedintheoil.Thelighterhydrocarbongases,suchas
methaneandethane,donotcondenseintoliquidandflowoutthetopofthetower.About85%ofthepropaneandalmostallof
thebutaneandheavierhydrocarbonsaretrappedthisway.Theabsorptionoilisthendistilledtoremovethetrapped
hydrocarbons,whichareseparatedintoindividualcomponentsinafractionationtower.
5Atthispoint,thenaturalgascontainsmethane,ethane,andasmallamountofpropanethatwasn'ttrapped.Itmayalsocontainvaryingamountsof
carbondioxide,

Adiagramdepictingtheproductionofnaturalgasfromundergroundsourceto
householdusage.

hydrogensulfide,nitrogen,andothermaterials.Aportionoftheethaneissometimesremovedtobeusedasarawmaterialinvariouschemical
processes.Toaccomplishthis,thewatervaporinthegasisfurtherreducedusingoneofseveralmethods,andthegasisthensubjectedtorepeated
compressionandexpansioncyclestocooltheethaneandcaptureitasaliquid.
6Somenaturalgascontainsahighpercentageofcarbondioxideandhydrogensulfide.Thesechemicalscanreactwiththeremainingwatervaporin
thegastoformanacid,whichcancausecorrosion.Theyareremovedbyflowingthegasupthroughatowerwhileasprayofwatermixedwitha
solvent,suchasmonoethanolamine,isinjectedatthetop.Thesolventreactswiththechemicals,andthesolutionisdrainedoffthebottomofthe
towerforfurtherprocessing.
7Somenaturalgasalsocontainsahighpercentageofnitrogen.Becausenitrogendoesnotburn,itreducestheheatingvalueofthenaturalgas.
Afterthecarbondioxideandhydrogensulfidehavebeenremoved,thegasgoesthroughalowtemperaturedistillation(/knowledge/Distillation.html)
processtoliquefyandseparatethenitrogen.Together,theprocessesinsteps6and7aresometimescalled"upgrading"thegasbecausethenatural
gasisnowcleanerandwillburnhotter.
http://www.madehow.com/Volume6/NaturalGas.html

2/4

10/11/2016

Hownaturalgasismadematerial,history,used,processing,components,composition,structure,steps,industry,History

8Ifheliumgasistobecaptured,itisdoneafterthenitrogenisremoved.Thisinvolvesacomplexdistillationandpurificationprocesstoisolatethe
heliumfromothergases.NaturalgasistheprimarysourceofindustrialheliumintheUnitedStates.

Transporting
9Mercaptanisinjectedintotheprocessednaturalgastogiveitadistinctivewarningodor,andthegasispipedtoacompressorstationwherethe
pressureisincreasedtoabout2001,500psi(1,38010,350kPa).Thegasisthentransportedacrosscountrythroughoneofseveralmajorpipelines
installedunderground.Thesepipelinesrangefrom20to42in(51to107cm)indiameter.Aboutevery100mi(160km),anothercompressorboosts
thegaspressuretomakeupforsmallpressurelossescausedbyfrictionbetweenthegasandthepipewalls.Thiskeepsthegasflowing.
10Whenthepressurizednaturalgasreachesthevicinityofitsfinaldestination,itissometimesinjectedbackintothegroundforstorage.Depleted
undergroundgasandoilreservoirs,porousrocklayersknownasaquifers,orsubterraneansaltcavernsmaybeusedtostorethegas.Thisensuresa
readysupplyduringthecolderwintermonths.

Distributing
11Whengasisneeded,itisdrawnoutofundergroundstorageandistransportedthroughpipelinesatpressuresupto1,000psi(6,900kPa).These
pipelinesbringthegasintothecityorareawhereitistobeused.
12Thepressureisreducedtobelow60psi(410kPa),andthegasisdistributedinundergroundpipesthatrunthroughoutthearea.Beforethegasis
pipedintoeachhouseorbusiness,thepressureisfurtherreducedtoabout0.25psi(1.7kPa).

QualityControl
Naturalgasburnsreadilyinairandcanexplodeviolentlyifalargequantityissuddenlyignited.Entirebuildingshavebeenleveledbypowerfulblasts
resultingfromnaturalgasleaks.Inothercases,peoplehavesuffocatedinclosedroomsthatslowlyfilledwithnaturalgas.Becausenaturalgasisodorless,
foulsmellingmercaptanisaddedtothegassothatevenasmallleakwillbeimmediatelynoticeable.Toprotecthighpressureundergroundgaspipelines,a
brightyellowplastictapeisburiedinthegroundafewfeetabovethepipelinetowarnpeoplewhomightbedigginginthearea.Thatway,theywilluncover
thetapebeforetheyactuallystrikethepipelinebelow.Warningsignsarealsoplacedatgroundlevelalongtheentirelengthofthepipelineasanadditional
precaution.

TheFuture
Becausenaturalgasiscleanburning,itisbeingconsideredasanalternativefuelformotorvehicles.Compressednaturalgas
(/knowledge/Compressed_natural_gas.html)(CNG)carsandtrucksarealreadyontheroadinmanyareas.Companiesusingindustrialprocessesthat
requirehightemperaturesarealsoturningtonaturalgasinsteadofotherfuelsinordertoreducetheairpollutionemittedbytheirplants.Thisincludes
companiesinvolvedinmanufacturingsteel,glass,ceramics,cement,paper,chemicals,aluminum,andprocessedfoods.

WheretoLearnMore
Books
Kroschwitz,JacquelineI.,andMaryHoweGrant(eds.)."Gas,Natural."InEncyclopediaofChemicalTechnology.4thed.,vol.12.NewYork:JohnWiley
andSons,Inc.,1993.
Tussing,ArlonR.,andBobTippee.TheNaturalGasIndustry:Evolution,Structure,andEconomics.2nded.Tulsa,OK:PennWellPublishing,1995.

Other
NaturalGasInformationandEducationalResources.http://www.naturalgas.org(http://www.naturalgas.org)(November1,2000).
PacificGasandElectricCompany."HowOurGasSystemWorks."http://www.pge.com/006_news/006c2gassys.shtml
(http://www.pge.com/006_news/006c2gassys.shtml)(November12,2000).
ChrisCavette

SandMakingMachine
LowCostSandMakingMachineWarmAftersaleService,OrderNow!Gotohxjqchina.com

AlsoreadarticleaboutNaturalGas(/knowledge/Natural_gas.html)fromWikipedia

UserContributions:
1

Katie

(/Volume

Jan25,2009@2:14pm

Thisarticlehelpedmesomuchonmyscincepaper.Anditisprettyinteresting.
http://www.madehow.com/Volume6/NaturalGas.html

3/4

10/11/2016
2

Hownaturalgasismadematerial,history,used,processing,components,composition,structure,steps,industry,History
Aug20,2009@3:15pm

MichaelJRJose

(/Volume

Aninterestingexampleofthedangersofpocketsofnaturalgas(methane)insandstoneisshownintheWarnerBros.pilotshowof'KungFu'(starring
DavidCarradine,1972).TheChineseworkersarelayingrailroadthroughasandstoneoutcropwhichmustbetunnelledtolaythetrack.Theassay
showsthatitthetypeofsandstonethatmayhavegaspockets('bonser'isnamedintheshow).Thedynamitesetsoffagaspocketandsomeofthe
workersarekilled.
3

Nov30,2009@4:16pm

courtney

(/Volume

thanksforthisarticleitdefinetlycameinhandyonmyscienceproject,noothersiteshaveanyhelpfulinfomation!
4

Aug13,2012@5:05am

VinayDhoble(mailto:vinaydhoble[at]in[dot]com)

(/Volume

ThanksforinformativeaswellasintrestinginformationaboutCNGwhichwillshortlybecomemajorsourceoffuel.IsitpossibletogetCNGfrom
municiplewaste.Ifsopleaseinform.
Onceagainthanksalot.

Commentaboutthisarticle,askquestions,oraddnewinformationaboutthistopic:
Name:

Email:

Showmyemailpublicly

Typethecodeshown:

PublicComment:(504000characters)

Sendcomment

NaturalGasforum(/forum/)
Mouthwash(Mouthwash.html)

NeedlefreeInjectionSystem(NeedlefreeInjectionSystem.html)

2016Advameg,Inc.

http://www.madehow.com/Volume6/NaturalGas.html

4/4