I’m sure you’ve heard of natural gas, and you probably even use it as a source of energy, but do you really know what natural gas is? When it comes down to it, what is it?
What is Natural Gas?
Natural gas is a gas that occurs beneath the Earth’s surface. It is mostly made up of methane, but it also contains small amounts of hydrocarbon liquids and nonhydrocarbon gases. It is both a colorless and odorless gas. Natural gas is a fossil fuel; this means that it comes from the remains of plants and animals that live millions of years ago. These plants and animals were buried and compressed underneath soil and rock, and eventually, these plants and animals became natural gas.
Natural gas is combustible, so we burn it to use for energy. It is known as one of the cleanest burning forms of energy because it emits significantly less carbon dioxide than other fuels like coal.
How do we get Natural Gas?
We have established that natural gas is a gas found beneath the Earth’s surface, so how do we get it out so we can harness it as energy? Natural gas is trapped between large layers of rock beneath the Earth’s surface. Geologists help locate where these pools of natural gas are, then a well is drilled to extract the gas. After extraction, natural gas can be stored until it is needed to provide us with energy.
Even though we probably use natural gas fairly regularly, we may not know too much about it. Hopefully this post helped give you the basics of what natural gas is and how we get it to use it for our energy needs!