Natural Gas
Natural gas occurs deep beneath the earth's surface. Natural gas consists mainly of methane, a compound with one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms. It also contains small amounts of hydrocarbon gas liquids and non-hydrocarbon gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide.
It is formed when layers of decomposing plant and animal matter are exposed to intense heat and pressure under the surface of the Earth over millions of years. The energy that the plants originally obtained from the sun is stored in the form of chemical bonds in the gas.
According to World Bank data, 21.52% of world’s total electricity is produced from natural gas. Also from IEA (2018), "World energy balances”, total 5543.6 TWh electricity is produced from plants run by natural gas.
Advantages:
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Environmentally friendly.
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Safe and easy to store.
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High heating value.
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Comparatively less costly than other fossil fuels (e.g. oil).
Disadvantages:
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Highly combustible.
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LNG transportation is costly and requires sophisticated technology for storage.
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It’s non-renewable.
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It emits some greenhouse gases.
Applications
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Electricity generation by combusting natural gas in simple cycle steam power plant and combined cycle power plant.
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Conversion of natural gas to CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) for different applications such as powering vehicles, cooking, and electricity production.
Ilijan Combined-Cycle Power Plant
Location: Ilijan, Batangas, Philippines
Installed Capacity: 1200 MWe
Location: Shakaskraal, KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa
Capacity: 670 MWe
Location: near Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria
Capacity: 450 MWe
Location: Gönyü, Hungary
Capacity: 428 MWe
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