Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Natural Gas as a raw material contains:

Natural gas is a mixture of combustible gases formed underground by the decomposition of organic materials in plant and animal. It is usually found in areas where oil is present, although there are several large underground reservoirs of natural gas where there is little or no oil. Natural gas is widely used for heating and cooking, as well as for a variety of industrial applications.

Raw natural gas is composed of several gases. The main component is methane. Other components include ethane, propane, butane, and many other combustible hydrocarbons. Raw natural gas may also contain water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and helium.

During processing, many of these components may be removed. Some—such as ethane, propane, butane, hydrogen sulfide, and helium—may be partially or completely removed. To be processed and sold as separate commodities. Other components—such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen—may be removed to improve the quality of the natural gas or to make it easier to move the gas over great distances through pipelines.

The resulting processed natural gas contains mostly methane and ethane, although there is no such thing as a "typical" natural gas. Certain other components may be added to the processed gas to give it special qualities. For example, a chemical known as mercaptan is added to give the gas a distinctive odor that warns people of a leak.