Natural gas is one of the fastest-growing energy sources. In 2020, natural gas was the largest source of energy generation in the United States.
Nearly 50% of homes in the United States use natural gas for space and water heating.
Natural gas continues to gain popularity as it is cleaner, less expensive, and more efficient than other fossil fuels.
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What is Natural Gas?
Natural gas is a non-renewable, naturally occurring fossil fuel created over hundreds of millions of years. It contains many different compounds and is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases.
Natural gas mainly consists of methane, a compound with one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH4). It also contains smaller amounts of other higher alkanes, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium.
Natural gas is a colorless and odorless gas that has many uses, including electricity, cooking, and manufacturing.
What is Natural Gas Made Of?
Natural gas takes millions of years to form. Its extended processing process takes place deep beneath the surface.
Natural gas deposits are found on land and offshore on the ocean floor. It is stored in naturally occurring reserves near other solid and liquid hydrocarbon beds, such as coal and crude oil.
How Does Natural Gas Form?
As plants and animals decay, the remaining material builds up beneath the earth’s surface and on the ocean floor. Depending on the environment, this material is sometimes mixed with sand, silt, and calcium carbonate.
Over time, layers form and compact. During compaction, the layers are subject to excessive heat and pressure. This combination can transform the decaying plant and animal material rich in carbon and hydrogen into oil and natural gas.
In some places, natural gas moves into large cracks and spaces between the layering rocks.
Before humans can use natural gas, a lengthy and costly extraction process is required. Natural gas is commonly extracted by drilling vertically into the earth’s surface, where a well is created to access the gas reserves.
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) extracts natural gas by drilling horizontally to expand the amount of gas a well can access. It makes the well more productive but can also have environmental consequences.
Two Types of Natural Gas
Natural gas resources are known as either conventional or unconventional.
1. Conventional Natural Gas
It is found within reservoirs in porous rock, such as sandstone. They are usually found in oil reservoir deposits. Conventional natural gas is more straightforward than traditional drilling and pumping techniques.
2. Unconventional Natural Gas
It is found in tight, non-porous rock formations, such as shale. These resources are recovered through a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. These methods are much more complex and have a more significant environmental impact.
Is Natural Gas a Clean Energy?
The answer to this question is more complex. While natural gas is the cleanest and most efficient fossil fuel when burned, it is still a fossil fuel that produces water vapor and carbon dioxide during combustion.
During combustion, fossil fuels contribute to climate change by releasing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
However, burning natural gas for energy results in fewer emissions of many air pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) than coal or petroleum. For example, natural gas produces 45% less carbon dioxide than coal, 30% less than oil, and 15% less than wood.
The exploration, drilling, and production of natural gas can have several environmental effects.
During exploration, vegetation and soil can be disturbed by all activities (e.g., vehicles, drilling).
Drilling wells and laying pipelines can require clearing and leveling an area, affecting ecosystems, habitats, and biodiversity.
In addition, drilling activities produce air pollution and may disturb people, wildlife, and water resources. Natural gas extraction can produce large volumes of contaminated water that require proper handling, storage, and treatment to prevent polluting land and other water systems.
Natural gas wells and pipelines often have engines to run equipment and compressors, which produce air pollutants and noise.
Fracking requires vast quantities of water. It splits open rock formations by highly pressurized water, chemicals, and sand. This process can deplete an area’s water table and impact aquatic ecosystems and habitats. It also generates highly toxic and often radioactive wastewater.
Fracking can cause micro-earthquakes that have the potential to cause structural damage to buildings or underground networks of pipes and cables. As a result, this process is highly controversial as it has significant environmental impacts, provides economic opportunities, and is a reliable energy source.
Although it is not as clean as wind or solar power, natural gas is vital in transitioning to clean energy. Most of the natural gas consumed in the United States is produced domestically.
What is Natural Gas Used for in Homes?
Natural gas is versatile with multiple uses. It has become an increasingly popular energy source in homes across the United States.
To use natural gas, the system and appliance must be specifically designed to run on this fuel type, and a direct line must be installed on your property.
Everyday Use of Natural Gas in Residential Homes
- Water heaters
- Clothes dryers
- Fireplaces
- Barbeques
- Lights for your yard
- Heating your swimming pool
- Oven
- Stovetop
- Furnaces
What is Natural Gas Used for Commercially?
The industrial sector accounts for about one-third of natural gas consumption in the US. Natural gas is used in the industrial sector similarly to its use in residential homes.
Typical uses of natural gas commercially
- Heat buildings and water
- Operate refrigeration and cooling equipment
- Fuel to manufacture products
- Fuel for trucks
- Power source for farm equipment
Natural gas manufactures several products, including fertilizers, antifreeze, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and fabrics. It is also used to manufacture chemicals, such as ammonia, methanol, butane, ethane, propane, and acetic acid.
In agriculture, many farmers use natural gas as a backup to electricity as it is more reliable.
Natural gas can be an alternative fuel for cars, buses, trucks, and other commercial vehicles. More than 5 million natural gas vehicles are estimated worldwide, and over 150,000 in the United States.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Natural Gas
Natural gas has several advantages, especially over other fossil fuels, but disadvantages should be considered.
Advantages
- Abundant
- Reliable
- Cheaper
- Easily transported
- Produces less overall pollution
- Safer and more accessible to store compared to other fossil fuels
Disadvantage
- Fossil fuel
- Non-renewable resources
- Emits carbon dioxide
- Requires extraction
- Combustible material
- Contributes to greenhouse gases and climate change
Is Natural Gas Sustainable?
A key aspect of sustainability is ensuring that today’s needs do not compromise the needs of future generations.
- While fossil fuels continue to meet our energy needs, they are non-renewable, meaning that when reserves run out, they will not regenerate and contribute to climate change. Fossil fuels also produce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
- Natural gas generates CO2 during combustion. It consists mainly of methane, a potent greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.
- Natural gas is one of the enormous energy resources available in North America. The estimated natural gas reserves explored within the United States are large enough to provide enough supply for the next 92 years.
- Because of its abundance, natural gas is cheap to consume and has generated millions of jobs within the United States.
- Natural gas is considered a non-renewable resource because it comes from a depleting resource that does not replenish. It is sometimes referred to as a bridge toward renewable energy. While it is not as sustainable as renewable energy sources (e.g., wind or solar), it is a step in the right direction.
- There is no perfect option; even renewable energy sources have some impact on the environment. It is essential to weigh the pros and cons and understand the compounding effect.
- While natural gas is an inexpensive and reliable energy source cleaner than traditional fossil fuels (e.g., oil), it is only partially sustainable.
- Long-term, there are better alternatives, such as wind and solar energy, but they remain more expensive and less accessible to the average person.
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