The most profitable, environmentally friendly and important fuel today is natural gas. What is this substance? Where does the origin of natural gas come from and what are its features? This is important and necessary to know, because how long this raw material lasts is a global issue for all countries of the world. We will talk about these issues in this article.
Natural gas: general characteristics of the composition
This compound is customary in chemistry to denote methane having the formula CH 4 . However, this is not entirely true. After all, natural gas is the mineral products of our Earth. And it cannot be absolutely clean. It is a chemical mixture of many gaseous products. Among them, one can clearly identify the organic component and the inorganic.
The first include such low molecular weight gases as:
To the second, more diverse products:
- hydrogen sulfide impurities;
- hydrogen;
- helium
- nitrogen;
- carbon dioxide.
Therefore, the properties of this substance can not be determined by only one dominant alkane in the composition. Impurities also have a strong effect on them. However, the origin of natural gas to people working with it is well known. Therefore, cleaning methods for use have long been developed and introduced into widespread use.
Physical properties
To describe the properties of this compound, not many points are required.
- The density varies depending on the state of aggregation, since this product is capable of liquefying with increasing pressure.
- At 6500 0 it is capable of spontaneous combustion, therefore it is an explosive substance.
- In a mixture with air in certain proportions it also has an explosive character.
- Almost twice as lighter than air, therefore, it is able to escape into the upper atmosphere.
There is also a special property due to which natural gas deposits are much wider than they could be. He is able to be in a solid state in the earth's crust. We will talk more about this below.
Methods of formation or origin of natural gas
There are several basic options in which the formation and accumulation of the substance in question occurs.
- The process of decomposition of living things as a result of the end of their life. This is evidenced by biogenic theory. This path is estimated in thousands and millions of years, but as a result, it led to the accumulation of a huge amount of natural gas on our planet.
- The formation of gas hydrate complexes concentrated mainly underground. This process became possible only due to the selection of certain thermodynamic parameters. However, in the XX century it was proved that such gas deposits exist and their quantities are simply amazing in their scale. Even permafrost keeps in its depths natural gas in a solid state.
- The origin of natural gas from space as a result of a number of specific reactions. It has now been proven that virtually all the planets in our system have this gas in their composition.
No matter how it was formed, but one thing remains unchanged: its reserves are huge, but exhaustible.
The main world deposits
World reserves of natural gas are estimated at 200.363 trillion m 3 . This is data for the period until 2013. Of course, the figure is striking in its grandeur. But do not forget about his expenses, which are also small in number. About 3646 billion m 3 of this unique natural raw material is mined annually worldwide.
The main natural gas fields in the world are located in the following countries:
- Russia;
- Iran;
- Qatar;
- Turkmenistan
- USA;
- Saudi Arabia;
- United Arab Emirates;
- Venezuela and others.
Only the largest countries on the territory of which this mineral can be mined are designated here. In general, the places of concentration of this product are available in 101 countries of the world.
If we call the area of deposits themselves, then the largest of them are the following:
- Hassi Rmel (Algeria);
- Shah Deniz (Azerbaijan);
- Groningen (Netherlands);
- Dhirubhai (India);
- North / South Pars (Qatar and Iran, respectively);
- Urengoy (Russia);
- Galkynysh (Turkmenistan).
These are not just large, but giant and super-giant places in which most of the world's natural gas is concentrated.
Natural gas fields in Russia
If we talk about our country, then we can name about 14 sources of this unique raw material. The largest are:
- Urengoy
- Leningrad;
- Yamburg
- Shtokman;
- Bovanenkovskoe;
- Polar.
Eight more have not such massive reserves, but are also very important for the well-being of our country. In general, natural gas deposits in Russia are the most numerous compared to other countries of the world. So many sources, as in our region, are not found anywhere.
World Gas Forecasts
From the figures given above in the article on gas production and consumption, as well as on the quantities of its reserves, it is obvious that the approximate time of using all sources will be about 55 years! This is very small, so work is underway in this area.
Experts predict the same thing with regard to oil. An interesting fact is that the bulk of this raw material remains hidden from human production in permafrost and at the bottom of the oceans in the form of gas hydrate layers. If scientists manage to solve the problem of their processing and develop production methods, then both the gas and oil problems will be resolved for many years to come.
But so far this remains only hope and a dream, a belief in bright minds and the foresight of the learned people of our world.
Mining methods
Natural gas production is carried out according to a specific technique and methodology. The thing is that the depth of its occurrence can reach several kilometers. In such conditions, a specially designed program and new, modern and powerful equipment are required.
The production methodology is based on creating a pressure difference in the gas reservoir and the outside air. As a result, with the help of a well, the product is pumped out of the bedding, and the formation is saturated with water.
Wells are drilled along a specific path resembling a ladder. This is because:
- this saves space and preserves the integrity of the materials during production, since gas impurities (hydrogen sulfide, for example) are very harmful to equipment;
- this allows you to distribute the pressure on the reservoir more evenly;
- in this way, you can penetrate to a depth of 12 km, which allows you to study the lithospheric composition of the earth's interior.
As a result, natural gas production becomes quite successful, uncomplicated and well organized. After the product is recovered, it is sent to its destination. If it is a chemical plant, then it is being cleaned and prepared for further use in various industries.
In particular, for household purposes, it is necessary not only to clean the product, but also to add odorants to it - special substances that give a sharp unpleasant odor. This is done for safety reasons when leaking indoors.
Gas transportation
After the formation of natural gas, it was collected and prepared for transportation. It is carried out in various ways.
- Through the pipeline. The most common option, however, is the most dangerous. In this case, it is the gaseous product that moves, which can cause leakage and explosion. Therefore, compressor points stand on the path of the entire sequence, the purpose of which is to maintain pressure for the normal promotion of the product.
- The use of gas carriers - special tankers that can transport liquefied material. This method is the safest, since in a liquid state the gas is not so explosive and incapable of self-ignition.
- Railway with the help of tank cars.
The way gas is transported depends on the distance of the place of arrival and the quantity of product.
Environmental aspect
From the point of view of the natural aspect, there is no cleaner ecological fuel than natural gas. After all, the products of its combustion are water and carbon dioxide. No harmful emissions, acid rain is not formed .
However, in this case, there is still a problem - the "greenhouse effect". It represents the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which provokes a global change in the global climate. Scientists from all countries are also working on this problem, as recently it has become more topical and relevant.
Nevertheless, gas and oil are the main combustible minerals that serve humans as fuel.