NATURAL GAS

A natural gas is a colourless gaseous hydrocarbon that consists primarily of methane and
ethane. Natural gas can be found dissolved in oil at the high pressures existing in a
reservoir. (Natural gas, 2014)
It is known that the nineteenth century was a century of coal that gave way for the
initiation of industrial revolution in Europe. The twentieth century was the century of oil
and was the primary energy source that supported the growth of global economy. The
demand of the world's economy for energy is ever increasing. The interruption of energy
supply should be of genuine concern. It may likely result in a chronic energy shortage in a
long run. It may eventually mature into a state of serious energy crisis. The way to
prevent this crisis is to explore alternative sources of energy supply. Natural gas is one of
such options because of its economic attractiveness and environmental concerns. At the
end of the last century, natural gas took over the position of coal as the number two
energy source behind oil.
Major natural gas reserves can be located in the former Soviet Union, Middle East, Asia
Pacific, Africa, North America, Southern and Central America, and Europe.
Over 100 countries in the world have adopted the generation of power through natural
gas. Some of these countries include United States of America, United Arab Emirates,
United Kingdom, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco etc.
Listed here are some developing countries using natural gas to generate electricity and
the locations.

The Osagyefo Barge is a 125 MW barge-mounted gas turbine electric power

generating station located at Effasu in the Western Region of Ghana.

The Takoradi Power Station is a thermal power station at Aboadze, 17 kilometres

(11 mi) east of Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana. It consists of three power plants.

The Ain Beni Mathar Integrated Thermo Solar Combined Cycle Power Plant (also
known as ISCC Ain Beni Mathar or An Beni Mathar ISCC) is a ISCC power station in
the commune of Ain Bni Mathar, in the Jerada province, Oriental region, Morocco.

Nzizi Power Station is a planned 50 MW natural gas-fired thermal power plant

in Uganda.

IMPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS

Some countries involved in the exportation of natural gas in no alphabetical order are
Russia, Canada, Nigeria, Angola, United States, Algeria, Indonesia, Norway, Egypt,
Germany, Qatar and Malaysia. Etc.
In respect to their proven gas reserves, potential long lasting political stability and
decreased but efficient cost of transportation the best country for our country to import
natural gas from would be Nigeria. Nigeria is also meeting the following requirements.
a) Low level of impurities: Inerts such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen, water and
other impurities are also found with natural gas. These impurities can only be
tolerated at very low levels if the gas would be suitable. The statutory maximum
for H2S, under the Gas Act is 5 milligrams per cubic metre (5 mg/m3). (Industrial
Combustion Engineering 2014)
b) A reasonable wobbe Index: this is ratio of the calorific value of a gas to its density;
the calorific value is a measure of the energy expended when combustion is
completed. The combustion chambers of the proposed power plants specifically
run a range of wobbe index of 48.5 49.7MJm-3.
c) Guaranteed supply: we have been assured of 365 days of supply and also that
maintenance schedule would not affect supplies in any way as the country has
enough storage to last us during maintenance stages.
TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL GAS
Unlike many products that are packaged and transported by vehicles, transporting
natural gas by means of truck, train, or barge would be considered dangerous and
expensive. Natural gas can be transported continuously through pipelines or as LNG
(liquefied natural gas) or as CNG (compressed natural gas) but considering the closeness
of our country to our buyer adopting the pipeline technology would be the best option.
The overall design of the pipeline transmission system to the power stations in each state
would be dependent on the location of the power station and the operating pressures
determined by the power generating capacity of each station.

ROUTES FOR OUR PIPELINE DESIGN

Power Stations would be located as far away from the public as possible, considering
this, factors such as public safety, pipeline safety, traffic magnitude would be kept to a
significant minimum.
Fortunately the location of our Country in a geological stable plain zone eliminates any
environmental and geologic complications associated with Countries located in
mountainous regions located in tectonic zones.
Our country's power of Eminent domain ensures acquiring choice lands for this project
meets little resistance from previous land owners.
OPERATING PRESSURES.
Operating pressures of our gas lines will be determined by the power generating capacity
of the power stations, power stations supplying high population zones or industrial
zones designated high load zones will require higher operating pressures than power
stations with reduced load.
This too will determine the choice of pipeline materials and pipe sizes. Pipeline materials
will consist of a choice of either Steel or Polyethylene pipes, high load zones will require
steel pipes or larger diameter polyethylene pipes due to higher operation pressures and
increased chances of public interaction with pipes, and the steel pipes will however
require cathodic protection to reduce corrosion.
Pipeline designs in the proximity of power plants with reduced load will preferably
feature a lot of small diameter polyethylene pipes because of their reduced operating
pressure.
There will be need for pressure alteration facilities to vary operating pressures to match
changes in pressure requirement for individual power stations through line-packing.
A series of pipeline accessories such as pressure meters, leak detection devices and
safety devices would also be budgeted.

Option 1b Conversion to Coal with Natural Gas Co-Firing

In addition to replacing oil-fired warm-up guns with natural gas-fired guns, the unit being
evaluated would need to be retrofitted with emissions control equipment to comply with
Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) for mercury, hydrogen chloride (HCl) and
particulate matter (PM). Issues associated with other air emissions regulations, such as
the currently vacated Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), Regional Haze Rule/Best
Available Retrofit Technology (BART), National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
and greenhouse gases (GHGs), are not considered in this example.
Emissions control retrofits for the unit would consist of powdered activated carbon
(PAC) injection (alternatively referred to as activated carbon injection [ACI]) for mercury
control and semi-dry flue gas desulfurization (SDFGD) and fabric filter combination for
HCl and PM control. The existing cold-side ESP would be demolished and removed from
service. The additional pressure loss associated with addition of an SDFGD and
replacement of an ESP with fabric filter would necessitate the addition of ID booster
fans.
Retrofitting a coal-fired boiler to co-fire natural gas could be as simple as replacing the
existing oil-fired ignitors with new natural gas-fired Class 1 ignitors. This modification
typically allows for a maximum gas firing capability of 10 to 20 percent. If the unit is
equipped with oil-fired warm-up guns, these can be replaced with natural gas-fired guns
to increase the potential natural gas capability to approximately 30 to 50 percent. If a
higher level of natural gas co-firing is required, natural gas firing capability would need to
be incorporated into the main burner system. Potential modifications include installation
of gas rings around the existing coal burners, installation of gas spuds in the annulus or
center of the burner, or other means to allow for inserting natural gas into the existing
burner.
Typically, the most cost-intensive option for coal and natural gas co-firing is either the
addition of full-sized natural gas burners or the replacement of coal burners with natural
gas or dual-fuel burners. Often, the largest risk associated with co-firing is poor natural
gas burner placement, which could result in excessive temperatures or incomplete
combustion in certain areas.

Modifications to the boiler and boiler auxiliary equipment are often minimal or not
required. Control system modifications would be required to incorporate additional
burners and natural gas into the plants operating system. As long as the burner
management system is of a newer vintage, the existing system can be modified and
reused. Updates to the combustion control system would also be required.
A disadvantage of coal and natural gas co-firing is that the converted unit would still be
considered a coal-fired unit from a regulatory perspective. In addition, displacing only a
portion of coal with natural gas generally would not, by itself be sufficient to meet air
regulations. For example, in most cases, a combination of natural gas co-firing and
emissions control equipment retrofits would be required to ensure compliance with the
MATS for existing coal-fired electric generating units.

Natural gas advantages over other fuels include the following: it has fewer impurities, it
is less chemically complex, and its combustion generally results in less pollution. In most
applications, using natural gas produces less of the following substances than oil or coal:
carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the primary greenhouse gas; sulfur dioxide, which is the
primary precursor of acid rain; nitrogen oxides, which is the primary precursor of smog;
and particulate matter, which can affect health and visibility; than oil or coal.
Technological progress allows cleaner energy production than ever for all fuels, although
the inherent cleanliness of gas means that environmental controls on gas equipment, if
required, tend to be far less expensive than those for other fuels.

Natural gas is used to make fertilizer for ethanol.

Natural gas is used to make methane for hydrogen.
Electric utilities use natural gas to generate clean power.

Comparison of Air Emissions from Fossil Fuels

(Pounds of air emissions produced per billion Btu of energy)
Emission

NATURAL GAS

OIL

COAL

Carbon Dioxide

117,000

164,000

208,000

greenhouse effect, is the warming of the Earths surface and troposphere (the lowest
layer of the atmosphere), caused by the presence of water vapour, carbon
dioxide, methane, and are known as greenhouse gases, water vapour has the
largest effect.
The atmosphere allows most of the visible light from the Sun to pass through and reach
the Earths surface. As the Earths surface is heated by sunlight, it radiates part of this
energy back toward space as infrared radiation. This radiation, unlike visible light, tends
to be absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere,

REFERENCES
Natural gas 2014. Encyclopdia Britannica Online. Retrieved 23 February, 2014,
from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/406163/natural-gas
Industrial Combustion Engineering 2014, retrieved on 24 February,2014, from
http://blackboard.salford.ac.uk/bbcswebdav/pid-1006420-dt-content-rid575197_1/courses/NBSRGIndustrialCombustionEngineering/Programme%20Content/Module%201%20%20Combustio
n%20Theory%20Module_1_Chapter_4/mod1_ch4_HTML/index.htm
Edfenergy 2014, retrieved on 26 February 2014, from
http://www.edfenergy.com/energyfuture/generation-gas