Natural gas is one of the types of fossil fuels that are used worldwide for household as well as for industrial applications. We use natural gas for cooking, heating, and production of electricity. Natural gas does not have any taste, flavor or neither it has color. But do you know how it is obtained? Natural gas is formed when the decomposed plants and animals inside the earth are subjected to extreme pressure and heat. In this post, you will learn about the advantages and disadvantages of natural gas. So let’s begin it with…
What is Natural Gas?
Natural gas is the fossil fuel in the gaseous phase that contains methane, alkanes like propane, butane, and a small percentage of gases like nitrogen, carbon dioxide, etc.
The interesting fact about natural gas is that its density is less than the air which makes it lighter than the air.
Now, let us take this discussion further and talk about the advantages of natural gas.
Advantages of Natural Gas
Environment-Friendly:
Natural gas is, in fact, the most environmental friendly fossil fuel and sometimes, it is also known as the cleanest fossil fuel on the planet. Upon the combustion of the natural gas, it emits less harmful emissions. As per the recent stats, natural gas releases 30% less hazardous emissions than oil and 45% less harmful emissions than coal.
Inexpensive:
Natural gas is cheaper than other fossil fuels. Also, for the production of electricity and for heat generation, natural gas is preferable. Have you ever heard about producing hydrogen from natural gas? Yes, hydrogen can be produced from the natural gas and here the main point is that the hydrogen production process is complicated as well as costly. However due to natural gas, hydrogen can be created with very little investment.
More Efficiency:
For any process in which heat is generated, we talk in terms of efficiency. Natural gas has higher efficiency as it gives more energy after the combustion. Here, another thing that we have to consider is that natural gas is available worldwide and it has more abundance than other fossil fuel resources.
Easily Transportable:
Natural gas is easy to transport and it can be supplied to the houses of people via pipelines. It can be transported from one part of the country to the other without any issues and in the most efficient way. You can easily rely on natural gas as it can be used for almost all applications.
Also Read:
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Hydroelectric Energy
- What is Combined Cycle Power Plant? – Complete Explanation
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Solar Energy
Disadvantages of Natural Gas:
Highly Combustible:
Natural gas is highly combustible and if sudden mishandling occurs, chances of explosions are there. As it is odourless, it is very difficult to identify whether it is leaked or not. Due to these issues, nowadays, different odorants are used to determine this leakage.
Difficult to Store:
For storing natural gas, big space is required. The volume of the natural gas is 3 times the volume of petrol, so a huge space is required to store them. Also, it must be stored in a place which is not too much hot. While storing, proper safety measures are to applied to prevent its leakage.
Harmful to the Environment:
The combustion of natural gas leads to global warming. Gases like carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide are released after the combustion of natural gas and these gases are very harmful to the surrounding environment. The emission of such gases leads to climatic changes.
Conclusion
So, these are the most important advantages and disadvantages of natural gas that we must aware of. As a human being, we must use natural gas in a very limited amount and must keep our environment green and healthy. Thanks for checking out this article. Drop a comment below if you have any queries!
