How Is Natural Gas Produced

Natural gas is found in oil fields, natural-gas fields and coal beds. Since natural gas isn't a pure product, it needs to undergo processing before it can be used as consumer fuel. The gas is extracted from a field using a decompression process called retrograde condensation. After the natural gas is extracted, it is stripped of the additional elements such as acid and mercury to make it usable by consumers.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. First, acid is removed from the natural gas. An amine treating and a sulfinol process strip the acid from the gas.

2. Next, the natural gas needs to be dehydrated. It goes through a glycol unit and PSA unit, getting rid of all of the extra moisture.

3. Mercury must be removed from the gas, too. After the natural gas is dehydrated, mercury can be removed with activated carbon.

4. Finally, nitrogen must be removed from the gas. An absorption process removes the nitrogen.

5. The natural gas is now ready to be distributed to consumers. It will be used in processes such as power generation, residential use, powering natural-gas vehicles, fertilization and aviation.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to use natural gas when possible. Natural gas has less environmental impact on global warming then coal or oil.
• Although natural gas is cleaner then many energy sources, it still contributes to greenhouse-gas emissions.

Resources

• More about natural gas

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