Revision as of 14:05, 18 November 2012 edit Vsmith (talk \| contribs) Administrators 266,607 edits sp consist ← Previous edit		Revision as of 18:25, 19 November 2012 edit undo 165.139.186.25 (talk) No edit summary Next edit →
Line 5: '''Natural gas''' is a naturally occurring [[hydrocarbon]] [[gas]] mixture consisting primarily of [[methane]], with other hydrocarbons, [[carbon dioxide]], [[nitrogen]] and [[hydrogen sulfide]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.naturalgas.org/overview/background.asp \|title=composition of natural gas \|publisher=Naturalgas.org \|date= \|accessdate=2012-07-14}}</ref> Natural gas is an important energy source to provide heating and electricity. It is also used as fuel for vehicles and as a chemical feedstock in the manufacture of [[plastics]] and other commercially important [[organic compound\|organic chemicals]]. Natural gas is found in deep ~~underground~~ natural ~~rock formations or associated with other~~rockother hydrocarbon reservoirs in [[coal bed]]s and as [[methane clathrate]]s. [[Petroleum]] is also another resource found in proximity to and with natural gas. Most natural gas was created over time by two mechanisms: biogenic and thermogenic. Biogenic gas is created by [[methanogen]]ic organisms in [[marsh]]es, [[bog]]s, [[landfill]]s, and shallow sediments. Deeper in the earth, at greater temperature and pressure, thermogenic gas is created from buried organic material.<ref>US Geological Survey, [http://energy.er.usgs.gov/gg/research/petroleum_origins.html Organic origins of petroleum]</ref><ref>[http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=natural_gas_home US Energy Information Administration]</ref> Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, it must undergo [[natural gas processing\|processing]] to clean the gas and remove impurities, including water, to meet the specifications of marketable natural gas. The by-products of processing include [[ethane]], [[propane]], [[butane]]s, [[pentane]]s, and higher molecular weight [[hydrocarbon]]s, [[hydrogen sulfide]] (which may be converted into pure [[sulfur]]), [[carbon dioxide]], [[water vapor]], and sometimes [[helium]] and [[nitrogen]].

Natural gas: Difference between revisions