Economics of Natural Gas Industry

De: Roshdy Ebrahim PhD

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

The most important gaseous fuel used in the first century of industrial development was town gas. This was produced by two processes: pyrolysis, in which discontinuously operating ovens produce coke and a gas with a relatively high heating value (20,000–23,000 kJ/m3), and the water gas process, in which coke is converted into a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide by another discontinuous method (approx. 12,000 kJ/m3 or medium Btu gas). Until the end of the 1920s the only gases that could be produced in a continuous process were blast furnace gas and producer gas. Producer gas was obtained by partial oxidation of coke with humidified air. However, both gases have a low heating value (3500–6000 kJ/m3, or low Btu gas) and could therefore only be used in the immediate vicinity of their production. Gas processing consists of separating all of the various hydrocarbons and fluids from pure natural gas. Major transportation pipelines usually impose restrictions on the makeup of the natural gas that is allowed into the pipeline. That means that before the natural gas can be transported it must be purified. While the ethane, propane, butane, and pentanes must be removed from natural gas, this does not mean that they are all waste products. Gas processing is necessary to ensure that the natural gas intended for use is as clean and pure as possible, making it the clean burning and environmentally sound energy choice. Thus, natural gas, as it is used by consumers, is much different from the natural gas that is brought from underground up to the wellhead. Although the processing of natural gas is in many respects less complicated than the processing and refining of crude oil, it is equally as necessary before its use by end users. The natural gas used by consumers is composed almost entirely of methane. However, natural gas found at the wellhead, although still composed primarily of methane, is by no means as pure.