The use of natural gas. Natural gas: composition, properties

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

What do we know about hydrocarbons? Well, perhaps something from the school curriculum in chemistry, and the word "methane" periodically flashing in the media … What do we know about natural gas, except for its explosive properties? What other 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 Features

Let's start with the fact that the well-known phrase about the smell of gas in the apartment or on the street is not entirely correct. Natural gas, which is supplied to our apartments for cooking or for heating water, has no taste or smell. What we feel is nothing more than a special additive needed 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 gasthe 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 content 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 different values are taken as a basis in different countries. In Russia, the calculation is carried out according to the lowest calorific value, in Western countries, such as France and the UK, - according to the highest.

Speaking of the explosiveness of natural gas, it is worth mentioning such concepts as explosive limits and dangerous concentrations. The gas explodes at its concentration in the room 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 gas-air mixture burns with additional air supply. A dangerous concentration is usually called 1/5 of the lower explosive limit, that is, 1%.

Basic types and applications of natural gas

Butane and propane have found their use as fuel for cars (liquefied gas). Propane is also used to fuel lighters. Ethane is rarely used 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 to be more precise, methane, we have already discussed, it is used as a combustible fuel in stoves, columns and boilers.

Varieties of produced natural gas

According to the types of produced gas, the fields are divided into gas or associated. The main difference between them is the percentage of hydrocarbon content. In gas fields, the content of methane is about 80-90%, in associated, or, as they are commonly called, "oil", its content is not more than 50%. The remaining 50% is propane-butane and oil separated from gas. One of the biggest disadvantages of gas from an associated field is its mandatory purification from various impurities. Obtaining natural gas is also associated with the production 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, in the process of drilling a special liquid is added to the well so that the destroyed rocks do not clog it.

This liquid is supplied with the help of special pumps. Of course, the cost of natural gas includes the cost of operating and constructing gas wells. From 40 to 60% of the cost is the cost of this.

How does gas come to us?

Soafter leaving the production site, the purified natural gas enters the first compressor station, or, as it is also called, the main one. It is located most often in the immediate vicinity of the deposit. There, with the help of installations, high-pressure gas enters the main gas pipelines. Booster compressor stations are installed on main gas pipelines to maintain the set pressure. Since the laying of pipes with this pressure category inside cities is prohibited, a branch is installed in front of each large city. It already, in turn, does not increase, but lowers the pressure. Part of it is spent by large consumers of gas - industrial enterprises, factories, boiler houses. And the other part goes to the so-called GRP - gas distribution points. There, the pressure drops again. Where is the use of natural gas most familiar and understandable to you and me? These are stove burners.

How long has he been with us?

Active use of natural gas dates back to the middle of the 19th century, after the invention of the gas burner. And the original use of it now is not quite familiar to us. At first it was used for street lighting.

In the Soviet Union until the end of the 30s of the last century, an independent gas industry did not exist. Gas fields were discovered by chance, only during the exploration of oil wells. The active use of natural gas began during the Great Patriotic War. Lack of fuel, due to the loss of part of the coal and oilfields, gave a powerful impetus to the development of the gas industry. After the end of the war, the gas industry actively developed and gradually became one of the most energy efficient.

No alternatives

Perhaps the best proof of natural gas's advantage as the most convenient energy source is Moscow's figures. Connecting the gas 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 fuel oil every day. And all this was replaced by 1 million cubic meters. m of gas. This was followed by a gradual gasification of the entire country and the search for new deposits. Later, huge gas reserves were found in Siberia, which are still being exploited.

Industrial use

The use of natural gas is not limited to cooking - although indirectly, it is used to supply heat to residential buildings. Most large urban 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. A growing number of automotive giants are developing vehicles that run on alternative fuels, including hydrogen and natural gas.

Only gas is to blame

In terms of ecology, natural gas can be called one of the safest fossil fuels. However, connecting gas to many areas of human life and subsequent burning led toa multiple increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Otherwise, this process is called the "greenhouse effect". And this has an extremely negative impact on the climate of our planet. However, new technologies and production levels have recently reduced emissions to the atmosphere as much as possible. Recall that gas is one of the safest types of fuel.