What do we know about hydrocarbons?Well, except that 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 is the use of natural gas, besides the well-known cooking and heating of residential buildings? What is happening in the world of energy consumption and energy security?
Basic properties
To begin with, the famous phrase aboutthe 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 neither taste nor 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 thousand cubic meters of gas.
The main component of natural gas is definitelyis methane. Its content in the gas mixture is about 89-95%, the other 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.
Natural gas energy released during combustionOne cubic meter of fuel is called calorific value. This value is one of the initial in all matters of designing gas facilities, and in different countries different values are taken as the basis. In Russia, the calculation is carried out on the lowest heat of combustion, in Western countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, - on the highest.
Speaking of the explosiveness of natural gas, it is worthmention concepts such as explosive 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 gas-air mixture burns with additional air supply. A dangerous concentration is called 1/5 of the lower explosive limit, that is, 1%.
Basics of types and uses of natural gas
Butane and propane are used as fuel.for cars (liquefied gas). Also, propane is used for refilling 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, and to be more precise - methane, we have already discussed, it is used as combustible fuel in stoves, columns and boilers.
Varieties of natural gas produced
By types of produced gas deposits are dividedon gas or passing. The main difference between the two is the percentage of hydrocarbons. In gas fields, the methane content is about 80-90%, in passing, or, as they are also called, “oil”, its content is not more than 50%. The remaining 50% is propane-butane and oil separated from gas. One of the biggest drawbacks of gas from the associated field is its mandatory cleaning 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 best gas for cooling nuclear reactors. Sulfur emitted from hydrogen sulphide extracted as an admixture of natural gas is also used for industrial purposes.
The main tool in the extraction of natural gasis the rig. This is a four-legged tower with a height of about 20-30 meters. A pipe with a drill at the end is suspended from it. This pipe increases as the depth of the well increases, and a special fluid is added to the well during the drilling process so that fractured rocks do not clog it.
How does gas come to us?
So, leaving the place of extraction, purified naturalthe gas enters the first compressor station, or, as it is also called, the head station. It is located most often in the immediate vicinity of the field. There, with the help of installations, high-pressure gas enters the gas mains. To maintain a given pressure on the gas pipelines, booster compressor stations are installed. Since the laying of pipes with this category of pressure inside cities is prohibited, a branch is established before each major city. It, in turn, does not increase, but decreases pressure. A 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, we are most familiar and understandable to you? These are hot plates.
How long has he been with us?
The active use of natural gas takes itsbeginning in the middle of the 19th century, after the invention of the gas burner. And the original use of it now for us is not quite familiar. At first it was used to illuminate the streets.
There is no alternative
Perhaps the best proof of the benefits.Natural gas as the most convenient source of energy are indicators of Moscow. Connecting gas allowed us to save one million cubic meters of firewood per day, 0.65 million tons of coal, 150 thousand tons of kerosene and almost as much fuel oil. And all this was replaced by 1 million cubic meters. m of gas. This was followed by the gradual gasification of the whole country and the search for new deposits. Later, huge gas reserves were found in Siberia, which are still in use today.
Industrial use
Natural gas use is not limited.only by cooking - although indirectly, it is used to supply heat to residential buildings. Most large urban boilers in the European part of Russia use natural gas as their primary fuel.
Natural gas is also increasingly used inchemical industry as raw material for various organic substances. An increasing number of automotive giants are developing cars on alternative fuels, including hydrogen and natural gas.
Only gas is to blame
From an environmental point of view, natural gas cancall one of the safest types of organic fuel. However, the connection of gas in many areas of human life and the subsequent combustion led to a manifold increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Otherwise, this process is called the "greenhouse effect". And this is an extremely negative impact on the climate of our planet. However, new technologies and the level of production have recently reduced the level of emissions to the atmosphere to the maximum. Recall gas - one of the safest fuels.
