Page 71 - Synthetic Fuels Handbook

NATURAL GAS 59

after the World War II that welding techniques, pipe rolling, and metallurgic advances
allowed for the construction of reliable pipelines. This post-war pipeline construction boom
lasted well into the 1960, and allowed for the construction of thousands of miles of pipeline
in America.
Once the transportation of natural gas was possible, new uses for natural gas were
discovered. These included using natural gas to heat homes and operate appliances such
as water heaters and oven ranges. Industry began to use natural gas in manufacturing and
processing plants. Also, natural gas was used to heat boilers to generate electricity. The
transportation infrastructure had made natural gas easy to obtain, and it was becoming an
increasingly popular form of energy.
There are so many different applications for this fossil fuel that it is hard to provide an
exhaustive list of all of its uses, and new uses are continuously being discovered. Natural
gas has many applications: for domestic use, industrial use, and for transportation. In addi-
tion, natural gas is also a raw material for many common products such as paints, fertilizer,
plastics, antifreeze, dyes, photographic film, medicines, and explosives.

2.9 NATURAL GAS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Natural gas burns more cleanly than other fossil fuels. It has fewer emissions of sulfur,
carbon, and nitrogen than coal or oil, and it has almost no ash particles left after burning.
Being a clean fuel is one reason that the use of natural gas, especially for electricity generation,
has grown so much and is expected to grow even more in the future.
As with other fuels, there are also environmental concerns with the use of natural gas.
Burning natural gas produces carbon dioxide, which is the most important greenhouse gas.
Methane (the major constituent of natural gas) is also a greenhouse gas. Small amounts of
methane can sometimes leak into the atmosphere from wells, storage tanks, and pipelines.
Exploring and drilling for natural gas will always have some impact on land and
marine habitats. But new technologies have greatly reduced the number and size of areas
disturbed by drilling (sometimes called footprints). Satellites, global positioning systems,
remote sensing devices, and 3-D and 4-D seismic technologies, make it possible to dis-
cover natural gas reserves while drilling fewer wells. Plus, the application of horizontal-
and directional-drilling methods make it possible for a single well to produce gas from
larger areas.

2.10 REFERENCES

Alderton, P. D.: “Natural Gas Treating Using Membranes,” Proceedings, 2nd GPA Technical Meeting,
GCC Chapter, Bahrain, Oct. 27, 1993.
Anerousis, J. P. and S. K. Whitman: “An Updated Examination of Gas Sweetening by the Iron Sponge
Process,” SPE 13280, Proceedings, SPE Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition, Houston,
Tex., 1984.
Arnold, K. and M. Stewart: Surface Production Operations, Volume 2: Design of Gas-Handling
systems and Facilities, 2nd ed, Gulf Professional Publishing, Houston, Tex., 1999.
ASTM: Annual Book of Standards, American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), West
Conshohocken, PA. 2007.
Baker, R. W., K. A. Lokhandwala, J. G. Wijmans, and A. R. Da Costa: “Two-Step Process for Nitrogen
Removal from Natural Gas,” United States Patent 6425267, 2002.
Berecz, E. and M. Balla-Achs: Gas Hydrates, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1983.
Bullin, J. A: “Why Not Optimize Your Amine Sweetening Unit,” Proceedings, GPA Europe Annual
Conference, Heidelberg, Germany, Sept. 25–27, 2003.