application of natural gas

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Appl ica t ion s & Handl ing o f Gas for Pow er , Fer t i l i zers , Transpor t and Ci t y Use

Natural gas is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane.Natural gas is widely used and is an important energy source in many applications such as:-

Natural gas is a major source of electricity generation through the use of gas turbines andsteam turbines.Natural gas dispensed from a simple stovetop can generate heat in excess of 2000F (1093C)Making it a powerful d o m e s t i c cooking and heating fuel.In t r anspor ta t i on sec to rs it is used in the form of CNG which is a cleaner alternative toOther automobile fuels such as gasoline (petrol) and diesel.Natural gas is a major feedstock for the production of ammonia, via the Haber process, for usein f e r t i l i ze r p roduc t ion .

Natural gas offers a number of significant environmental benefits over other fossil fuels. Largelya result of its chemical simplicity, it is the cleanest burning of all fossil fuels. Natural gas isprimarily composed of methane, with most of the impurities removed by gas processing at thefield and gas plant.

Elect r ic i ty Generat ion

Electricity generation is the main non-residential use of natural gas. Globally, there is anincreasing demand for electricity, coupled with reduced tolerances for nuclear and hydro plants,tightening limits on air, water, and noise pollution emissions, as well as high cost for wind andsolar energy. This leaves gas-fired generation as one of the only remaining options for electricalutility companies. Because the cost of fuel accounts for around 65% of the cost of electricity,the choice of fuel is an important decision for power plant developers.

The development of IPPs and the increased efficiency of gas-fired combined cycle plants haveallowed gas to become the fuel of choice in both intermediate and peak load phases. In many

parts of the world where gas is relatively cheap, such as the Middle East, gas plants have alsobecome the choice for base load power plants. Gas is also preferred where permitting additionalnuclear or coal plants is difficult. This trend will undoubtedly accelerate in the future.

In conventional steam power plants, fuels such as gas, coal, or oil generate steam, which thenpowers a turbine to generate electricity. This process generates waste heat from the steam

generator as well as low-pressure steam from the turbine. The low-pressure steam can be usedfor district heating, if demand exists, but cannot be used to generate additional power. The totalefficiency, or ratio of energy input versus electricity energy produced, for conventional powerplants is around 34%.

A combined cycle plant, by contrast, generates power directly from a gas generator when gas isburned directly in a turbine to generate electricity. It also generates power from steamgenerated from heat exhausted by the gas generator. Because the gas generator runs at hightemperatures, steam generated from the gas turbines excess waste heat has sufficient energyto drive a steam turbine. Combined cycle plant efficiencies have increased from 40% to 50% inthe 1980s to around 55% in the most advanced plants.

The cost of power generation varies by fuel type. On a full cost (including fuel as well as capitaldepreciation costs) basis, gas is more expensive than existing nuclear power generation, butsignificantly cheaper than coal or renewable power. If environmental costs are added to thisanalysis, the advantages of gas will be greater. However, it should be noted that gas fuel costshave risen significantly over the past two years thus reducing some of the price advantages.


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Petrochem ica ls , Stee l , and Fer t i l i zer

More than 97% of the worlds synthetic fertilizer is produced from synthetically producedammonia derived from natural gas. The process requires relatively high temperatures and

pressures, and thus requires cheap energy to be economic. Natural gas, with its relatively cheapprice, provides both the energy and the feedstock for the process.

The steel industry is the single largest industrial energy consumer, absorbing about 4% ofworlds energy production. In developed countries, the cost of energy is between 15% and 20%of the overall cost of steel production. The modern Direct Reduced Iron method for producingsteel directly removes oxygen by reacting the ore with a hydrogen-rich and CO-rich gasproduced by catalyzing methane derived from natural gas. As in fertilizer production, naturalgas provides both the energy and the feedstock for the process

Remote, smaller gas fields not economic for LNG or pipeline development may be idealcandidates for commercializing via petrochemical, fertilizer, or steel developments. Production ofAluminium requires large amounts of electric power, which may be generated using natural gas.

Energy costs account for an estimated 30% to 45% of total aluminium production costs. Suchinvestments can be economic at both large and small scales, may be relatively quick to build,and can often be project or debt financed.

Transpor t Fue l

Though the benefits of natural gas as a transport fuel are well-known, growth in direct naturalgas usage in the transportation sector has been slow to materialize. Studies indicate that

vehicles operating on natural gas versus conventional fuels such as gasoline and diesel fuels can

reduce CO output by 90% to 97% and CO2 by 25%. The switch can also significantly reduceNOx

Natural gas in the form of compressed natural gas (CNG), which is basically methane gaspressured to 200 bar to 250 bar, is an ideal transportation fuel. LPGs are also commonly usedtransport fuels.

emissions, as well as nonhydrocarbon emissions and particulates. Fuel supply infrastructurearound the world heavily favors reliance on traditional liquid fuels, making conversion to naturalgas difficult.

Natural gas holds the greatest promise as a fuel for fleet vehicles that refuel at a centrallocation, such as transit buses, short-haul delivery vehicles, taxis, government cars, and lighttrucks. There are currently approximately 65,000 natural gas vehicles (NGVs) in operation in theUnited States using CNG and LNG as their main fuels. There are an estimated 10 20 million

vehicles around the world that use CNG and LPG as their primary fuel. Notable countries are(Argentina, Pakistan, Brazil, Italy, India, Iran, US (for CNG) and Italy, Australia and Japan (forLPG vehicles).

Resident ia l Gas Market s

Gas has been consumed in the residential market since the 1800s, when gas produced fromcoal, known as coal gas, was piped to city streets for lighting. Today, most large cities in NorthAmerica, Europe, and Northern Asia have extensive natural gas networks supplying residentialand commercial consumers with clean and reliable natural gas, primarily for space heating,water heating, and cooking. Many cities in developing countries are also installing local gaspipelines and networks.

Ci t y G a s & T r a n s p o r t A p p l i c a t i o n o f N a t u r a l Ga s i n I n d i a

This sector comprises of:


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i . D o m e s t i c h o u s e h o l d u s eii. Commercial use in hotels, hospitals, restaurant and offices

iii. Transport sector use in Three wheelers, buses, trucks and cars

i v . I n d u s t r i a l S e c t o r u s e i n t h e S m a l l S c a l e I n d u s t r y i n c l u d i n gP o w e r generation.

The Household use of gas has picked up in India especially when multiple use of Natural Gasin the houses was demonstrated. The gas can be used for cooking, water heating,space heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, power generation and fuelling the vehicle.The concept of a single switch solution in the household sector is picking up momentum.

This concept provides that a household could be self contained gas users to meet itsall energy needs atone go that means once the gas supply is switched on, all these servicescan be secured which are all gas based of course selectively or need based. In thecommercial sector the city gas has found to be very useful in the applicationlike cooking, air conditioning, power generation. In fact a concept of Combined Heat & Power(CHP) is getting popular in India. This system has much higher thermal efficiency as compared

to other conventional services.

The use of Natural gas in the transport sector has contr ibuted to a great

extent to contain the pollution due to vehicular exhaust emissions. Apart from this natural gasas CNG has been able to replace high priced hydrocarbon commodity like petrol anddiesel. This has further helped India to reduce its Oil Import Bill. As a matter of fact,the international Gas Price is always 10-15% less as compared to crude oil price in energy

terms. N a t u r a l g a s s u pp l y t o i n du s t r i e s i n an d a r o u n d a c i t y o r l o c a la r e a h a s considerably helped reducing pollution in the cities apart from providing ease ofoperation and fuel handling to the industries.

Deve lopment o f Ci t y Gas in I nd ia

In the early stage, the c i ty gas was only started on experimental basis,primarily to utilize the locally produced gas. Such locations had been Duliajan, Moran, Nazira,Sibsagar in Assam, and Baroda in Gujarat. The structured use of Natural Gas in domestic sectorin Assam, started after formation of Assam Gas Company in 1962. In addition, the metrosof Mumbai and Kolkata used Coal Gas for City Gas Usage way back since pre-independence. The coal gas which is also known as Synthesis Gas did not find a commercialbusiness model and abandoned in Mumbai way back in 1981. In Kolkata this concept is stillworking after the original company the Oriental Gas was succeeded by GreaterCa l cu t ta Gas Supp ly Corporat ion in 1987, however i t i s on the re tardat ionphase. The development of City Gas in India remained localized for quite long time. It was onlyin 80s when structured development of City Gas took place in India. The Gujarat Gas Companyis the example of this initiative when Govt. of India allocated gas for development of City Gas inAnkleshwar and Bharuch. In early 90s Supreme Court on a PIL filed by Sh. N.C. Mehta directedthat the City Gas should be implemented in Delhi, Mumbai and Baroda by GAIL (I)Ltd.In pursuant to this direction, the CNG was introduced in all these three towns in1993. In Mumbai a JV of GAIL, BG and Govt. of Maharashtra was formed to pursue

City Gas Business. A company was registered in 1995 as M a h a n a g a r G a sL i m i t e d . T h i s c o m p a n y h a s b e e n p e r f o r m i n g v e r y successfully sincethen. In Delhi af ter cont inuing it s activi t ies for 5 years, GA IL form ed a JV wit hBharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd. and Govt. of NCT of Delhi and created a new company in1998 by the name of Indraprastha Gas Limited. Subsequently, there have been variousinitiatives in the City Gas Distribution (CGD) Projects. As of now, the numbers of companiesoperating in CGD areas under:

1.Assam Gas Company Ltd, Duliajan, Assam2.Tripura Natural Gas Company Ltd, Agartala, Tripura

3.Gujarat Gas Company Ltd (GGCL), Surat, Gujarat4.Baroda Municipal Corporation Ltd, Baroda, Gujarat5.Charotar Gas Sehkari Mandal i L imited6.Great Eastern Energy Corporat ion Ltd.

7.Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL), Mumbai, Maharashtra8.Maharashtra Natural Gas Company Ltd, Pune, Maharashtra


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9.Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL), Delh i10.Bhagyanagar Gas Ltd, Hyderabad, AP11.Green Gas Ltd, Lucknow, UP12.Central UP Gas Ltd, Kanpur, UP

13.Avantika Gas Ltd. MP14.Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Ahmedabad, Gujarat15.Adani Energy Ltd, Ahmedabad, Gujarat16.Sabarmati Gas Ltd, Gandhinagar, Gujarat17.Kolkata City Gas Co. Kolkata WB18.Haryana City Gas Limited, Gurgaon, Haryana19.Sity Energy Limited, Delhi

20.Reliance Industries Ltd21.Reliance Energy Ltd22.Krishna Godavari Gas Ltd (JV of GSPCL & Govt of AP)

GAS SUPPLY TERMI NAL A T CONSUMER END

Removal of Condensate, dust and oil from the natural gas Measurement of Sulpher content in the gas Measurement of hydrocarbon dew point Measurement of moisture in the gas Analysis of Natural Gas Control of pressure and temperature of natural gas supplied to consumer Measurement of Natural Gas Supplied Flow Control Safety Systems

Conclusion

Natural gas use is illustrated in this below chart (from production to end users for utilisation in

various sectors)


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TERMINAL

Terminal is like a node of any gas pipeline Networkfrom which either natural gas comes in or goes out.

Types of Terminals

1. RECEIVING TERMINAL: It is inlet point of thepipeline system or sub system from whichnatural gas enters in to the network.

2. DESPATCH TERMINAL: It is exit point of thepipeline system or sub system from which

natural gas is received by the consumer.

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application of natural gas

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