FGSH

Article # 1

June 2012

NEWSLINE

Natural gas - Our new transportation fuel

here is plentiful energy available below the ground in the form of crude oil, coal and natural gas. Our dependency on these sources of energy has been tremendous since industrial revolution. Natural gas is one of the energy sources that drives our everyday life. We use natural gas, we cannot cook our food, heat our homes, heat water and dry our clothes. In 2009, natural gas accounted for 23.4% of the total electricity generated in the US. Recently, it is being used as transportation fuels as well! Natural gas gives off a lot of heat and light when it burns, but doesnt produce a lot of smoke in comparison to gasoline. That makes it a good fuel for use in the home. Today, more than half the homes in the U.S. are heated by natural gas! So, what is natural gas? It is a mixture of gases that was formed when dead tiny water creatures and swamp plants were buried deep inside the earth for over 200 million years and subjected to heat and pressure below the Earth. The main ingredient in natural gas is methane (CH4). Natural gas reserves are generally found along with oil. Natural gas reservoirs require a dense layer of impermeable rocks to prevent its leakage to the surface. These dense layer of rocks are referred as seals or gas traps. Other rocks observed in gas reservoirs are classified as source rock, responsible for the producing natural gas and permeable rock, that allows these gases to permeate and get collected under the gas trap.
Natural gas is considered as a bridge fuel that will reduce our dependency on crude oil and help us save $ 350-450 billion we spend in importing foreign oil

Natural gas reservoir

Russia, United States, European Union and Canada are leading producers of natural gas in the world. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that there are 2 632 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of technically recoverable natural gas resource in the US. This includes undiscovered, unproved and Community transit of unconventional natural gas. In the US, most of the natural gas comes from Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Stillwater is fuelled by Texas. Unlike crude oil that is mainly imported from the Middle East, 98% of natural gas our natural gas comes from North America. Although natural gas is a relatively clean source of energy, abundantly available within the US, it is non-renewable in nature. This means that it will take another thousand years to make newer sources of natural gas! An alternative to natural gas is biogas, a very common source of energy in Europe. Like natural gas, it is also mainly composed of methane, but can be made from agricultural materials such as manure, sewage sludge and other animal, food and municipal solid waste through anaerobic digestion. This makes biogas renewable in nature. The US has tremendous amounts of agricultural materials available, but biogas production is not a big focus. Recently, many cities in the US, including Stillwater have adopted natural gas fleets for public transportation. Natural gas is a good alternative to gasoline as a transportation fuel because compressed natural gas tends to corrode and wear parts of engine less rapidly than gasoline engines. The emissions from a natural gas vehicle (NGV) have lower carbon dioxide and particulate per equivalent distance travelled. While there have been challenges with building refueling infrastructure, natural gas vehicles (NGVs) look attractive. But, how much natural gas is left in the ground? Estimates show that we have sufficient reserves for the next 100 years at current consumption rates. So, our grandchildren may not use natural gas for heating water and cooking food! Then, why use natural gas now? Natural gas is a bridge fuel that will reduce our dependency on crude oil and help us save $ 350-450 billion we spend in importing foreign oil every year. This money can be used to develop advanced technologies within the US, while using the abundantly available natural gas as a transportation fuel. So, do plan on buying a natural gas vehicle (NGV)!
Article drafted by Karthikeyan Ramachandriya, PhD Candidate, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Department, and edited by Dr. Anand Vennavelli, Associate Research Engineer, Fractionation Research Inc., Stillwater. For questions and comments please email osu.baegsa@gmail.com. This article is a part of BAEGSA-FRC Green Student Initiative project. Acknowledgments: Eric Lam for designing this new template.