61-486: An eternal flame is a flame, lamp or torch that burns for an indefinite time. Most eternal flames are ignited and tended intentionally, but some are natural phenomena caused by natural gas leaks, peat fires and coal seam fires , all of which can be initially ignited by lightning, piezoelectricity or human activity, some of which have burned for hundreds or thousands of years. In ancient times, eternal flames were fueled by wood or olive oil ; modern examples usually use
122-553: A concept of a נר תמיד or everlasting flame. This is commonly found hanging in front of the Aron Kodesh (holy ark) in orthodox Synagogues. It is meant as a remembrance of the Temple. Occasionally this flame is a fire which is kept lit 24/7. Other times it is merely electric and stays on all the time. In traditional Christian denominations, such as Catholicism and Lutheranism , a chancel lamp continuously burns as an indication of
183-593: A dedicated priest and represented the concept of "divine sparks" or Amesha Spenta , as understood in Zoroastrianism . Period sources indicate that three "great fires" existed in the Achaemenid era of Persian history, which are collectively considered the earliest reference to the practice of creating ever-burning community fires. The eternal flame was a component of the Jewish religious rituals performed in
244-481: A density 0.5539 times that of air (0.678 kg per standard cubic meter). In the early 1800s, natural gas became known as "natural" to distinguish it from the dominant gas fuel at the time, coal gas . Unlike coal gas, which is manufactured by heating coal, natural gas can be extracted from the ground in its native gaseous form. When the use of natural gas overtook the use of coal gas in English speaking countries in
305-434: A gas. The most common type is one that adds a mercaptan liquid into natural gas distribution systems so that leaks can be readily detected. Other types have been used for carbon dioxide fire extinguishers . Natural gas odorizers can vary from a simple wick in a container to computerized equipment, which controls the amount of odorant based on flow rate, tracks the amount of odorant in inventory, and alarms when odorant
366-484: A major source of natural gas in the United States and Canada. Because of increased shale gas production the United States was in 2014 the number one natural gas producer in the world. The production of shale gas in the United States has been described as a "shale gas revolution" and as "one of the landmark events in the 21st century." Following the increased production in the United States, shale gas exploration
427-403: A piped supply of propane or natural gas. Human-created eternal flames most often commemorate a person or event of national significance, serve as a symbol of an enduring nature such as a religious belief , or a reminder of commitment to a common goal, such as diplomacy . The eternal fire is a long-standing tradition in many cultures and religions. In ancient Iran the atar was tended by
488-542: A synthetic crude that can be further refined into finished products, while MTG can produce synthetic gasoline from natural gas. STG+ can produce drop-in gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and aromatic chemicals directly from natural gas via a single-loop process. In 2011, Royal Dutch Shell's 140,000 barrels (22,000 m ) per day F–T plant went into operation in Qatar . Natural gas can be "associated" (found in oil fields ), or "non-associated" (isolated in natural gas fields ), and
549-493: Is a flammable gaseous fuel made by the destructive distillation of coal . It contains a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen , carbon monoxide , methane , and other volatile hydrocarbons , together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen , and was used in a similar way to natural gas. This is a historical technology and is not usually economically competitive with other sources of fuel gas today. Most town "gashouses" located in
610-421: Is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane (95%) in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes . Traces of carbon dioxide , nitrogen , hydrogen sulfide , and helium are also usually present. Methane is colorless and odorless, and the second largest greenhouse gas contributor to global climate change after carbon dioxide. Because natural gas
671-458: Is a schematic block flow diagram of a typical natural gas processing plant. It shows the various unit processes used to convert raw natural gas into sales gas pipelined to the end user markets. The block flow diagram also shows how processing of the raw natural gas yields byproduct sulfur, byproduct ethane, and natural gas liquids (NGL) propane, butanes and natural gasoline (denoted as pentanes +). As of mid-2020, natural gas production in
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#1732776105759732-490: Is a significant part of the more modern versions of this. Previous versions worked off a variety of schemes to control the odorization level. The Peerless odorizer was the first example of this type of odorizer. The Peerless natural-gas odorizer was recognized as a Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1992. This odorizer was said to have been developed in response to
793-399: Is also found in coal beds (as coalbed methane ). It sometimes contains a significant amount of ethane , propane , butane , and pentane —heavier hydrocarbons removed for commercial use prior to the methane being sold as a consumer fuel or chemical plant feedstock. Non-hydrocarbons such as carbon dioxide , nitrogen , helium (rarely), and hydrogen sulfide must also be removed before
854-628: Is beginning in countries such as Poland, China, and South Africa. Chinese geologists have identified the Sichuan Basin as a promising target for shale gas drilling, because of the similarity of shales to those that have proven productive in the United States. Production from the Wei-201 well is between 10,000 and 20,000 m per day. In late 2020, China National Petroleum Corporation claimed daily production of 20 million cubic meters of gas from its Changning-Weiyuan demonstration zone. Town gas
915-537: Is estimated to have 51,000 cubic kilometers (12,000 cu mi) of natural gas and 50 billion barrels (7.9 billion cubic meters) of natural gas condensates . Because natural gas is not a pure product, as the reservoir pressure drops when non-associated gas is extracted from a field under supercritical (pressure/temperature) conditions, the higher molecular weight components may partially condense upon isothermic depressurizing—an effect called retrograde condensation . The liquid thus formed may get trapped as
976-694: Is heated and compressed deep underground. Methanogenic organisms produce methane from a variety of sources, principally carbon dioxide. During petroleum production, natural gas is sometimes flared rather than being collected and used. Before natural gas can be burned as a fuel or used in manufacturing processes, it almost always has to be processed to remove impurities such as water. The byproducts of this processing include ethane , propane , butanes , pentanes , and higher molecular weight hydrocarbons. Hydrogen sulfide (which may be converted into pure sulfur ), carbon dioxide , water vapor , and sometimes helium and nitrogen must also be removed. Natural gas
1037-403: Is natural gas produced from shale . Because shale's matrix permeability is too low to allow gas to flow in economical quantities, shale gas wells depend on fractures to allow the gas to flow. Early shale gas wells depended on natural fractures through which gas flowed; almost all shale gas wells today require fractures artificially created by hydraulic fracturing . Since 2000, shale gas has become
1098-474: Is not being injected into the gas stream. Odorants used for natural gas vary from country to country, depending on gas distribution regulations. Some odorants contain sulfur, which is oxidized to sulfur dioxide when the gas is burned. Sulfur-containing odorants include the following: Non-sulfur-containing odorants include the following: Wick type odorizers can be very small, odorizing the gas for as few as one gas customer to much larger ones that can odorize
1159-408: Is odorless, odorizers such as mercaptan (which smells like rotten eggs ) are commonly added to it for safety so that leaks can be readily detected. Natural gas is a fossil fuel that is formed when layers of organic matter (primarily marine microorganisms) decompose under anaerobic conditions and are subjected to intense heat and pressure underground over millions of years. The energy that
1220-406: Is often stored underground [references about geological storage needed]inside depleted gas reservoirs from previous gas wells, salt domes , or in tanks as liquefied natural gas. The gas is injected in a time of low demand and extracted when demand picks up. Storage nearby end users helps to meet volatile demands, but such storage may not always be practicable. With 15 countries accounting for 84% of
1281-452: Is preparing to export natural gas. Floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) is an innovative technology designed to enable the development of offshore gas resources that would otherwise remain untapped due to environmental or economic factors which currently make them impractical to develop via a land-based LNG operation. FLNG technology also provides a number of environmental and economic advantages: Many gas and oil companies are considering
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#17327761057591342-548: Is primarily dependent on proximity to markets (pipelines), and regulatory restrictions. Natural gas can be indirectly exported through the absorption in other physical output. The expansion of shale gas production in the US has caused prices to drop relative to other countries. This has caused a boom in energy intensive manufacturing sector exports, whereby the average dollar unit of US manufacturing exports has almost tripled its energy content between 1996 and 2012. A "master gas system"
1403-429: Is primarily used in the northern hemisphere. North America and Europe are major consumers. Often well head gases require removal of various hydrocarbon molecules contained within the gas. Some of these gases include heptane , pentane , propane and other hydrocarbons with molecular weights above methane ( CH 4 ). The natural gas transmission lines extend to the natural gas processing plant or unit which removes
1464-716: Is sometimes informally referred to simply as "gas", especially when it is being compared to other energy sources, such as oil, coal or renewables. However, it is not to be confused with gasoline , which is also shortened in colloquial usage to "gas", especially in North America. Natural gas is measured in standard cubic meters or standard cubic feet . The density compared to air ranges from 0.58 (16.8 g/mole, 0.71 kg per standard cubic meter) to as high as 0.79 (22.9 g/mole, 0.97 kg per scm), but generally less than 0.64 (18.5 g/mole, 0.78 kg per scm). For comparison, pure methane (16.0425 g/mole) has
1525-604: Is traded on a "dry gas" basis and is required to be commercially free from objectionable odours, materials, and dust or other solid or liquid matter, waxes, gums and gum forming constituents, which might damage or adversely affect operation of equipment downstream of the custody transfer point. LNG carrier ships transport liquefied natural gas (LNG) across oceans, while tank trucks can carry LNG or compressed natural gas (CNG) over shorter distances. Sea transport using CNG carrier ships that are now under development may be competitive with LNG transport in specific conditions. Gas
1586-409: Is transported at high pressure, typically above 200 bars (20,000 kPa; 2,900 psi). Compressors and decompression equipment are less capital intensive and may be economical in smaller unit sizes than liquefaction/regasification plants. Natural gas trucks and carriers may transport natural gas directly to end-users, or to distribution points such as pipelines. In the past, the natural gas which
1647-416: Is turned into liquid at a liquefaction plant, and is returned to gas form at regasification plant at the terminal . Shipborne regasification equipment is also used. LNG is the preferred form for long distance, high volume transportation of natural gas, whereas pipeline is preferred for transport for distances up to 4,000 km (2,500 mi) over land and approximately half that distance offshore. CNG
1708-736: The Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina , and to the Cherokee Nation Tribal Complex in Tahlequah, Oklahoma . In China, it has at times been common to establish an eternally lit lamp as a visible aspect of ancestor veneration ; it is set in front of a spirit tablet on the family's ancestral altar. Natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas, methane gas , or simply gas )
1769-694: The Tabernacle and later in the Temple in Jerusalem , where a commandment required a fire to burn continuously upon the Outer Altar . Modern Judaism continues a similar tradition by having a sanctuary lamp , the ner tamid , always lit above the ark in the synagogue. After World War II , such flames gained further meaning, as a reminder of the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust . Judaism has
1830-750: The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist . The Cherokee Nation maintained a fire at the seat of government until ousted by the Indian Removal Act in 1830. At that time, embers from the last great council fire were carried west to the nation's new home in the Oklahoma Territory . The flame, maintained in Oklahoma, was carried back to the last seat of the Cherokee government at Red Clay State Park in south-eastern Tennessee , to
1891-427: The supply chain can result in natural gas having a similar carbon footprint to other fossil fuels overall. Natural gas can be found in underground geological formations , often alongside other fossil fuels like coal and oil (petroleum). Most natural gas has been created through either biogenic or thermogenic processes. Thermogenic gas takes a much longer period of time to form and is created when organic matter
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1952-548: The 19th century, natural gas was primarily obtained as a by-product of producing oil . The small, light gas carbon chains came out of solution as the extracted fluids underwent pressure reduction from the reservoir to the surface, similar to uncapping a soft drink bottle where the carbon dioxide effervesces . The gas was often viewed as a by-product, a hazard, and a disposal problem in active oil fields. The large volumes produced could not be used until relatively expensive pipeline and storage facilities were constructed to deliver
2013-406: The 20th century, it was increasingly referred to as simply "gas." In order to highlight its role in exacerbating the climate crisis , however, many organizations have criticized the continued use of the word "natural" in referring to the gas. These advocates prefer the term "fossil gas" or "methane gas" as better conveying to the public its climate threat. A 2020 study of Americans' perceptions of
2074-666: The New London School explosion that occurred in March 1937. It was first shipped in July 1937, the Peerless odorizer overcame two of the major problems of previous devices: they avoided problems with leaky shaft seals by encapsulating the entire unit within a pressure vessel and added odorant in proportion to the gas flow by using a gas meter to drive the odorant pump. Odorizers are used in carbon dioxide fire extinguisher systems,
2135-432: The US had peaked three times, with current levels exceeding both previous peaks. It reached 24.1 trillion cubic feet per year in 1973, followed by a decline, and reached 24.5 trillion cubic feet in 2001. After a brief drop, withdrawals increased nearly every year since 2006 (owing to the shale gas boom ), with 2017 production at 33.4 trillion cubic feet and 2019 production at 40.7 trillion cubic feet. After
2196-427: The US, over one-third of households (>40 million homes) cook with gas. Natural gas dispensed in a residential setting can generate temperatures in excess of 1,100 °C (2,000 °F) making it a powerful domestic cooking and heating fuel. Stanford scientists estimated that gas stoves emit 0.8–1.3% of the gas they use as unburned methane and that total U.S. stove emissions are 28.1 gigagrams of methane. In much of
2257-523: The United States begins with localized use. In the seventeenth century, French missionaries witnessed the American Indians setting fire to natural gas seeps around lake Erie, and scattered observations of these seeps were made by European-descended settlers throughout the eastern seaboard through the 1700s. In 1821, William Hart dug the first commercial natural gas well in the United States at Fredonia, New York , United States, which led in 1858 to
2318-702: The bottoms of the gashouse ovens was often used for roofing and other waterproofing purposes, and when mixed with sand and gravel was used for paving streets. Huge quantities of natural gas (primarily methane) exist in the form of clathrates under sediment on offshore continental shelves and on land in arctic regions that experience permafrost , such as those in Siberia . Hydrates require a combination of high pressure and low temperature to form. In 2013, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) announced that they had recovered commercially relevant quantities of natural gas from methane hydrate. The image below
2379-654: The decayed organisms originally obtained from the sun via photosynthesis is stored as chemical energy within the molecules of methane and other hydrocarbons. Natural gas can be burned for heating, cooking, and electricity generation . Consisting mainly of methane, natural gas is rarely used as a chemical feedstock . The extraction and consumption of natural gas is a major industry. When burned for heat or electricity , natural gas emits fewer toxic air pollutants, less carbon dioxide, and almost no particulate matter compared to other fossil and biomass fuels. However, gas venting and unintended fugitive emissions throughout
2440-426: The developed world it is supplied through pipes to homes, where it is used for many purposes including ranges and ovens, heating / cooling , outdoor and portable grills , and central heating . Heaters in homes and other buildings may include boilers, furnaces , and water heaters . Both North America and Europe are major consumers of natural gas. Odorizer An odorizer is a device that adds an odorant to
2501-446: The eastern US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were simple by-product coke ovens that heated bituminous coal in air-tight chambers. The gas driven off from the coal was collected and distributed through networks of pipes to residences and other buildings where it was used for cooking and lighting. (Gas heating did not come into widespread use until the last half of the 20th century.) The coal tar (or asphalt ) that collected in
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2562-446: The economic and environmental benefits of floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG). There are currently projects underway to construct five FLNG facilities. Petronas is close to completion on their FLNG-1 at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and are underway on their FLNG-2 project at Samsung Heavy Industries . Shell Prelude is due to start production 2017. The Browse LNG project will commence FEED in 2019. Natural gas
2623-497: The formation of the Fredonia Gas Light Company . Further such ventures followed near wells in other states, until technological innovations allowed the growth of major long distance pipelines from the 1920s onward. By 2009, 66,000 km (16,000 cu mi) (or 8%) had been used out of the total 850,000 km (200,000 cu mi) of estimated remaining recoverable reserves of natural gas. In
2684-461: The fuel found that, across political identifications, the term "methane gas" led to better estimates of its harms and risks. Natural gas can come out of the ground and cause a long-burning fire. In ancient Greece , the gas flames at Mount Chimaera contributed to the legend of the fire-breathing creature Chimera . In ancient China , gas resulting from the drilling for brines was first used by about 400 BC. The Chinese transported gas seeping from
2745-406: The gas for a small town (10,000 MCF). They use a wick which is very similar to those used in a kerosene lantern . The odorant is drawn up the wick from the container and into the gas stream. Absorption bypass odorizers take a portion of the gas stream, the amount being dependent on the flow of gas in the line, and run it through a tank containing liquid odorant. The gas is passed over the top of
2806-435: The gas needs to be cooled down and compressed, as the friction in the pipeline causes the gas to heat up. Many existing pipelines in the US are close to reaching their capacity, prompting some politicians representing northern states to speak of potential shortages. The large trade cost implies that natural gas markets are globally much less integrated, causing significant price differences across countries. In Western Europe ,
2867-517: The gas pipeline network is already dense. New pipelines are planned or under construction between Western Europe and the Near East or Northern Africa . Whenever gas is bought or sold at custody transfer points, rules and agreements are made regarding the gas quality. These may include the maximum allowable concentration of CO 2 , H 2 S and H 2 O . Usually sales quality gas that has been treated to remove contamination
2928-896: The gas to consumer markets. Until the early part of the 20th century, most natural gas associated with oil was either simply released or burned off at oil fields. Gas venting and production flaring are still practised in modern times, but efforts are ongoing around the world to retire them, and to replace them with other commercially viable and useful alternatives. In addition to transporting gas via pipelines for use in power generation, other end uses for natural gas include export as liquefied natural gas (LNG) or conversion of natural gas into other liquid products via gas to liquids (GTL) technologies. GTL technologies can convert natural gas into liquids products such as gasoline, diesel or jet fuel. A variety of GTL technologies have been developed, including Fischer–Tropsch (F–T), methanol to gasoline (MTG) and syngas to gasoline plus (STG+). F–T produces
2989-526: The ground in crude pipelines of bamboo to where it was used to boil salt water to extract the salt in the Ziliujing District of Sichuan . Natural gas was not widely used before the development of long distance pipelines in the early twentieth century. Before that, most use was near to the source of the well, and the predominant gas for fuel and lighting during the industrial revolution was manufactured coal gas. The history of natural gas in
3050-442: The higher-molecular weight hydrocarbons to produce natural gas with energy content between 35–39 megajoules per cubic metre (950–1,050 British thermal units per cubic foot). The processed natural gas may then be used for residential, commercial and industrial uses. Natural gas flowing in the distribution lines is called mid-stream natural gas and is often used to power engines which rotate compressors. These compressors are required in
3111-612: The largest proven gas reserves. Sources that consider that Russia has by far the largest proven reserves include the US Central Intelligence Agency (47,600 km ) and Energy Information Administration (47,800 km ), as well as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (48,700 km ). Contrarily, BP credits Russia with only 32,900 km , which would place it in second, slightly behind Iran (33,100 to 33,800 km , depending on
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#17327761057593172-494: The liquid. Variations exist where wicks are utilized to increase odorant vaporization. For very high volume systems (and for some smaller volume systems), liquid injection odorizers are being manufactured. These odorizers work by the addition of small amounts of liquid odorant to the moving gas. A pump that can be controlled to give the range of addition rates necessary is a very important aspect of this type of odorizer. Computer control to monitor flow rates and vary injection rate
3233-433: The natural gas can be transported. Natural gas extracted from oil wells is called casinghead gas (whether or not truly produced up the annulus and through a casinghead outlet) or associated gas. The natural gas industry is extracting an increasing quantity of gas from challenging, unconventional resource types : sour gas , tight gas , shale gas , and coalbed methane . There is some disagreement on which country has
3294-471: The odorizer assembly injects wintergreen oil into the carbon dioxide stream when the agent is discharged. Approximately 50 cc of wintergreen oil contained within a frangible glass cartridge is mounted within a protective housing attached to the discharge piping in such a manner as to rupture the glass container when the carbon dioxide manifold is pressurized during discharge, atomizing the oil and dispersing it. The strong wintergreen scent effectively notifies
3355-441: The pores of the gas reservoir get depleted. One method to deal with this problem is to re-inject dried gas free of condensate to maintain the underground pressure and to allow re-evaporation and extraction of condensates. More frequently, the liquid condenses at the surface, and one of the tasks of the gas plant is to collect this condensate. The resulting liquid is called natural gas liquid (NGL) and has commercial value. Shale gas
3416-550: The source). It is estimated that there are about 900,000 km of "unconventional" gas such as shale gas, of which 180,000 km may be recoverable. In turn, many studies from MIT , Black & Veatch and the US Department of Energy predict that natural gas will account for a larger portion of electricity generation and heat in the future. The world's largest gas field is the offshore South Pars / North Dome Gas-Condensate field , shared between Iran and Qatar. It
3477-654: The third peak in December 2019, extraction continued to fall from March onward due to decreased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the US . The 2021 global energy crisis was driven by a global surge in demand as the world quit the economic recession caused by COVID-19, particularly due to strong energy demand in Asia. Because of its low density, it is not easy to store natural gas or to transport it by vehicle. Natural gas pipelines are impractical across oceans, since
3538-412: The transmission line to pressurize and repressurize the mid-stream natural gas as the gas travels. Typically, natural gas powered engines require 35–39 MJ/m (950–1,050 BTU/cu ft) natural gas to operate at the rotational name plate specifications. Several methods are used to remove these higher molecular weighted gases for use by the natural gas engine. A few technologies are as follows: In
3599-502: The worldwide extraction, access to natural gas has become an important issue in international politics, and countries vie for control of pipelines. In the first decade of the 21st century, Gazprom , the state-owned energy company in Russia, engaged in disputes with Ukraine and Belarus over the price of natural gas, which have created concerns that gas deliveries to parts of Europe could be cut off for political reasons. The United States
3660-494: Was invented in Saudi Arabia in the late 1970s, ending any necessity for flaring. Satellite and nearby infra-red camera observations, however, shows that flaring and venting are still happening in some countries. Natural gas is used to generate electricity and heat for desalination . Similarly, some landfills that also discharge methane gases have been set up to capture the methane and generate electricity. Natural gas
3721-567: Was recovered in the course of recovering petroleum could not be profitably sold, and was simply burned at the oil field in a process known as flaring . Flaring is now illegal in many countries. Additionally, higher demand in the last 20–30 years has made production of gas associated with oil economically viable. As a further option, the gas is now sometimes re- injected into the formation for enhanced oil recovery by pressure maintenance as well as miscible or immiscible flooding. Conservation, re-injection, or flaring of natural gas associated with oil
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