Advantages of Natural Gas
What Is Natural Gas?
Natural gas
(NG) is a mixture of gases that was formed from fossil remains of plants
and animals that are buried deep below the Earth’s surface.
Therefore NG is also a fossil
fuel. All types of fuel are either in a liquid, gas, or solid state.
Coal is in a solid state where oil and gasoline are in liquid form. When
a liquid reaches its boiling temperature, it becomes a gas. Although we
use the word “gas” for gasoline, it isn’t actually in the gas state, but
is a liquid. On the other hand, natural gas is truly a “gas.” Natural
gas is composed primarily of methane, although it also contains ethane,
propane, and traces of other gases. Depending on where it is extracted,
it varies between 87% & 96% methane with about 1.5% to 5% ethane, and
.1% to 1.5% propane. Methane is actually an odorless and a colorless
gas. But if you have smelled natural gas, you have noticed it has a
nasty rotten egg smell. Gas companies add a chemical that is called
mercaptan to the gas so it will have this unpleasant smell. The reason
for adding this smelly chemical is for our safety. It can be deadly if
you breath too much of it. The smell alerts us if there is a natural gas
leak. There are a number of advantages of natural gas over other fossil fuels as will be pointed
out in the following information.
Natural Gas
is Better For, And Friendlier To Our Environment
One of the
primary advantages of natural gas over other fossil fuel is that it is
much friendlier to the environment. What
I mean is it emits fewer emissions into the atmosphere when it is burned
than other fossil fuels do. In fact
NG is the cleanest burning fuel in existence today. For same
amount of heat produced, natural gas emits 30% less carbon dioxide than
burning oil and 45% less carbon dioxide than burning coal, thereby,
improving the quality of air. The primary products that result from the
combustion of natural gas are carbon dioxide and water vapor. This is
exactly what we release when we breathe.
Many of the
pressing environmental problems we have been fighting are a result of
the dirtier burning fossil fuels. Since natural gas is the cleanest
burning of all the fossil fuels, there are many ways it can be used in
our society to diminish the pollutants that are emitted into our
atmosphere. The more we switch to these applications, the more we remove
those harmful particulates from our environment.
The reason
other fossil fuels release more harmful particles into the atmosphere is
their molecular composition. If you use natural gas to cook, you will
notice that when you burn it, unlike other petroleum products, it
doesn’t produce any smoke. Coal and oil contain more complex molecules,
which have a higher carbon ratio. They also have a higher content of
nitrogen and sulfur. That’s why they release higher levels of harmful
emissions into our environment. In addition, coal and fuel oil release
particles of ash into the atmosphere. These are what contribute to
pollution. On the other hand, natural gas releases very small amounts of
sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, and essentially no ash or
particulate matter. It also releases much lower levels of carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other hydrocarbons.
Here are
some other environmental benefits to using natural gas. When producing
electricity, natural gas powered plants use about 60% less water than
coal plants and 75% less later than nuclear power plants for the same
electrical output. Additionally, natural gas power plants require the
least amount of land per megawatt of production versus renewable energy
sources. Wind and solar both require twenty times more land to power the
same number of homes as natural gas power-plants.
Natural gas
used for power production avoids many of the pitfalls facing wind,
solar, nuclear, and biofuel power generation technologies. Those include
visual impact, waste disposal, bird strikes and competing land uses.
In the
production of electricity, natural gas responds more quickly than any
other generation source in responding to fluctuations in U.S. consumer
electricity demand. In fact, natural gas powered generation reliably
backs up wind generated electricity when the wind doesn’t blow and solar
generated electricity when the sun doesn’t shine.
Natural gas
burns very hot
Natural gas
also gives off a lot of heat as it burns very hot. This property of
natural gas makes it good for heating homes and for cooking. NG has a
high heating value of 24,000 Btu per pound. As a result, more than 60
million, or about half of the homes in the United States are heated by
natural gas. Here are some of the household applications of natural gas:
·
Furnaces
·
Clothes Dryers
·
Water Heaters
·
Stoves/Ranges
·
Fireplace Logs
·
Barbecues
·
Patio Heaters
·
Pool and Spa Heaters
·
Fire Pits
·
Outdoor Lights
Natural gas
is easier and safer to store
Natural gas
is much safer to store than other fossil fuels. As a result, it is a
very efficient source of energy for heating as well as generating
electricity. Natural gas can be stored in liquid form in above ground
tanks, but a majority of the reserves in the U.S. are stored
underground. Most of the storage in the United States is in depleted
natural gas or oil fields that are located near consumption centers. The
reason these are used is their wide availability. It works quite well to
convert a field from production to storage because they can take
advantage of existing wells, gathering systems, and pipeline
connections.
Natural gas
is very reliable
This gas is
also very reliable. Unlike electricity in many areas, natural gas is
buried beneath the ground. Therefore when storms hit, the delivery of
natural gas is seldom interrupted. That is especially important in
extreme cold, where electrical power is often knocked out.
Natural gas is a cost-effective fuel
When
gasoline reached well over $4.00 per gallon, natural gas was close to
the $2.00 per equivalent gallon price. The law of supply and demand
kicks in. With new technology, shale natural gas, which is very
prevalent in the United States, has become a popular alternative. With
the price so affordable, it pays for many trucking companies to convert
their fleets over to natural gas from diesel. With auto makers teaming
up with Westport engine manufacturing, we should see an increase in
natural gas trucks for sale. Even taxi cab companies
are converting their gasoline cars to natural gas.
There is an
abundance of Natural Gas
We now have
more than a 100 year supply of clean burning natural gas that we didn’t
even know about just a few short years ago. Plus, most of the natural
reserves of natural gas fields are still underutilized. With shale
natural gas playing into the picture, our supply has become huge. It is
estimated that the Marcellus Shale alone, which is in the Appalachian
Basin, contains close to 50 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that is
recoverable. The Marcellus Shale underlies a good portion of
Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Ohio and adjacent states. The
Marcellus natural gas supply is also in close proximity to the high
demand markets of New York, New Jersey and New England. There are a
number of other natural gas reservoirs scattered around other parts of
the country. These shale natural gas reservoirs are now all accessible
through the technologies of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracking,
which is a safe method of extracting natural gas.
Domestic production of natural gas lessens our dependency on foreign oil
As the
production of domestic fuel supplies increases, it loosens the noose
that foreign oil has around our necks and makes us much less dependent
upon them. The less dependent we are on imported fuel, the better off we
are. By being more energy independent, it brings down the cost of
foreign sources of energy. It also creates a lot more jobs in our own
economy. God knows we need that.
Natural gas is a means for improved national security
You may
wonder what national security has to do with the production of natural
gas. Actually, it can have huge national security implications. When we
become more and more dependent on foreign sources for our energy, we not
only become a slave to the prices that are demanded, but if they choose
to shut off our supply, it could cripple our power. The sooner we become
energy independent the better. Not only is the supply of natural gas
important in light of national security, but the production of domestic
oil as well. Although this is only one of the many advantages of natural
gas, it is (or should be) high on the priority list.
Economic
Benefits of Natural Gas
The U.S.
supply of natural gas is enhancing the global competitiveness of the
United States. It is creating tens of thousands of well-paying jobs
while expanding our nation’s capacity for generating a cleaner burning
fuel and by generating affordable electric power. More than 85% of all
new electrical generation built in the U.S. in the last decade uses
natural gas to generate that electricity.
According to
the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA), activities related to the
development of natural gas contributed $385 billion to the U.S. economy
in 2008. Between 2005 and 2010, the U.S. government received royalty
payments by the natural gas industry in the amount of $4.4 billion.
In the
middle of the economic downturn in America, many areas of the country
have been revived due to the surging shale gas production. These areas
include Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Montana, Arkansas, and North
Dakota. According to HIS Global Insight, the natural gas industry
directly employs 622,000 Americans, and another 2.2 million are employed
in supporting industries.
As you can
see, there are many advantages of
natural gas. There are some challenges and some obstacles to natural
gas moving forward. As with most areas of life, when there are
advantages, there are also disadvantages. It’s always best to look at
both sides before drawing any final conclusions. I encourage you to also
read up on the disadvantages of natural gas.