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__Gas - Natural Gas __ Natural Gas (or simply referred to as gas) is a gas that consists mainly of Methane and is found associated with other fossil fuels in coal beds as methane clathrates. It is created by methanogenic organisms in marshes, bogs and landfills.

Methanogenic Organisms- Organisms that give off methane gas as a by-product of their metabolism

Before the Natural Gas can be used as a fuel, it undergoes processing to get rid of all the materials in it but the methane, this is done by fractionators that purify the raw natural gas.

First the combustion gases are used to drive a gas turbine, after which the hot exhaust from the gas turbine is used to boil water into steam which in turn drives a steam turbine to produce electricity.
 * The following diagram shows how the natural gas is used to produce electricity: **

(Combustion) (Turbine)
 * Gas Turbine:** Gas --> Heat Energy -->Kinetic Energy --> Electricity

(Boil Water) --> (Turbine)
 * Steam Turbine:** Heat Energy --> Heat Energy --> Kinetic Energy

The energy efficiency of natural gas in Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) Plants can be up to 50% which is far greater than other fossil fuels such as coal which is only 30-35% energy efficient. In 2003, natural gas passed coal as the energy source with the largest installed electricity generation capacity in the U.S. About half of all U.S. homes use natural gas for heating, and 70% of new homes are built with gas heating systems. One study estimated that a program to improve building performance through high-efficiency insulation, windows, furnaces, water heaters, and other appliances could save 234 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over the next 50 years.
 * Facts and Figures:**

Environmental Effects: Natural gas is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels and is an important source of energy to reduce pollution and mantain, a clean and healthy environment.


 * The following table shows how much less natural gas pollutes the environment over the other fossil fuels:**

- Pounds per Billion Btu of Energy Input** ||
 * **Fossil Fuel Emission Levels
 * **Pollutant** || **Natural Gas** || **Oil** || **Coal** ||
 * Carbon Dioxide || 117,000 || 164,000 || 208,000 ||
 * Carbon Monoxide || 40 || 33 || 208 ||
 * Nitrogen Oxides || 92 || 448 || 457 ||
 * Sulfur Dioxide || 1 || 1,122 || 2,591 ||
 * Particulates || 7 || 84 || 2,744 ||
 * Mercury || 0.000 || 0.007 || 0.016 ||


 * Bibliography:**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas
 * Intro:**

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas_processing
 * How Natural Gas is Processed:**

http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/technology_and_impacts/energy_technologies/how-natural-gas-works.html
 * Diagram + Facts and Figures:**

http://www.naturalgas.org/environment/naturalgas.asp
 * Environmental Effects:**