Natural Gas

You know that you use coal for barbecue, but what type of gas do you usually in your kitchen? Do you know that? Generally, natural gas is used in the kitchen to cook food. But what is natural gas? How is this formed? What are its uses? What are its properties? Let’s find out more about it.

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What is Natural Gas?

Natural Gas is a fossil fuel. It occurs naturally and approximately consists of 95% hydrocarbon methane, the other 5% consists of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, helium or hydrogen sulfide. It takes millions of years for it to form.

The gas is formed when layers of decaying plants and animals are buried under the earth’s surface and are exposed to intense heat and pressure for millions of years. Plants originally obtain energy from the sun and store in the form of chemical bonds in the gas. And thus, the formation of this gas occurs.

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Properties of Natural Gas

The following are the properties of Natural Gas :

• The state of matter of this gas is gaseous.
• It doesn’t have any color and is a tasteless gas.
• It is free of any kind of toxic, there is no smoke on burning and it has high calorific value.
• The gas is odorless. However, a chemical called mercaptan is added to it in small amounts to give it distinctive smell of eggs. This helps to find out any gas leaks.
• It is a combustible gas and a fossil fuel.
• Its a mixture of simple hydrocarbon compounds.
• It contains primarily methane, along with small amounts of ethane, butane, pentane, and propane.
• The by-products of this gas are water vapor and carbon dioxide.
• Air is 60% heavier than natural gas.
• It has a low flammability range and a high ignition temperature.
• Generally, it is transported through pipes.
• It occurs naturally in the rocks beneath the earth’s surface, in sedimentary rocks that are porous.

Uses of Natural Gas

The following are the uses of natural gas :

• It is used in vehicles in the form of CNG (Compressed Natural Gas).
• It is also used to manufacture a few chemicals and fertilizers.
• The gas is used as a source of energy for cooking, heating, and electricity generation.
• It is used as chemical feedstock for manufacturing plastic and other commercially important organic chemicals.
• The gas is also useful in the production of fabrics, glass, paint, plastic, steel, etc.
• Hydrogen can also be produced with the help of it.
• Protein-rich animal and fish feed is produced by feeding this gas on a commercial scale.

Solved Example For You

Q. Which of the following statements is not true about Natural Gas?

1. The gas is colorless.
2. This as is tasteless.
3. It is used as a source of energy for cooking, electricity production and heating.
4. It has a peculiar smell.

Sol: Statement d is false because natural gas is odorless when found in nature. But late on, chemicals are added to give it a distinctive smell to prevent gas leaks.