NATURAL GAS

Over the years Natural Gas (NG) has emerged as a 'fuel of choice' across the world. Natural Gas has replaced traditional fossil fuels due to its environmental friendly and economical characteristics. Natural Gas is widely used as fuel for city energy needs worldwide, in India use of Natural Gas has been restricted to power and fertilizer sectors on account of limited availability of Gas and lack of clarity on regulatory issues with regard to local distribution companies. However with expected increase in gas supply, changing regulatory scenario and growing concern over pollution in cities due to use of traditional fossil fuels city gas distribution projects present a tremendous investment opportunity to prospective investors. A clean and efficient fuel Natural Gas presents a viable substitute for traditional fossil fuels, namely oil and coal, as concerns over the environmental impact of their continued usage grows. Natural Gas is the fuel of choice for city energy needs internationally.

Why Natural Gas ?

The predominance of Natural Gas as a fuel for city energy purposes internationally is primarily due to three reasons. Firstly, Natural Gas is a more economical alternative. Comparing Natural Gas with fuels against which it will be competing in various customer segments within cities for industrial segment, Petrol/Diesel for transport and LPG for commercial and domestic segments, this can be clearly bought out. In the transport segment the fuels are compared based on running cost, CNG is almost three times as economical as the traditional fuels. For the Industrial, commercial and domestic segments the fuels are compared on the basis of total expenditure incurred to create one million Kilocalories of energy . For industrial customers Natural Gas offers a 20% cost benefit in energy terms while for the domestic segment Piped Natural Gas (PNG) presents a savings opportunity of almost 17% on the monthly bill.

Secondly, Natural Gas is a 'clean' fuel. When Natural Gas burns it creates lesser pollutants as compared to traditional fossil fuels. The fuel produces lower amount of CO2 but the real difference lies in the amount of NO2, SO2 and particulates, which are almost one-tenth the amount created by other fuels.

VALVES

INSTRUMENTATION

R.T.U.

MUX/ DEMUX

VOICE

HIGH SPEED SIGNALS

TRANSMISSION EQUIPMENT

OPTICAL FIBRE CABLE

 

And finally, natural gas as a fuel is extremely efficient. When the entire cycle of producing, processing, transporting and using energy is considered, natural gas is delivered to the consumer with a "total energy efficiency" of about 90 percent, compared with about 27 percent for electricity.

In its purest form, such as the natural gas that is delivered to our home, it is almost pure methane. Methane is a molecule made up of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms, and is referred to as CH4.  The distinctive “rotten egg” smell that we often associate with natural gas is actually an odorant called mercaptan that is added to the gas before it is delivered to the end-user.  Mercaptan aids in detecting any leaks.

COMPOSITION OF NATURAL GAS

 

Methane                      CH₄                                                       70-90%

Ethane                         C₂H₆                                                     0-20%

Propane                       C₃H₈                                                     0-20%

Butane                         C₄H₁₀                                                   0-20%

Carbon Dioxide          CO₂                                                       0-8%

Oxygen                       O₂                                                          0-0.2%

Nitrogen                      N₂                                                          0-5%

Hydrogen sulphide     H₂S                                          0-5%

Rare gases                   A, He, Ne, Xe                         trace

 

PROPERTIES

 

Boiling Point                           :           (-) 162^o C

Specific Gravity                      :           0.65

Auto Ignition Temp.               :           534^o C

Flammable Limit                     :           5-15%

Octane No.                              :           127

Calorific Value – 8500 to 10500 Kcal/SCM 

Colourless, Odourless

Non toxic, Non Corrosive