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Is natural gas recyclable? Sustainability is an ever-rising topic, and natural gas is no exception to the trend. The oil and gas industry has been criticized for its irresponsible use of natural resources — but fortunately, it’s possible to make cleaner energy sources with less impact on the environment.
This is where natural gas recycling comes in. Natural gas recycling is the process of capturing and purifying the methane in raw natural gas, also known as biogas or landfill gas. It’s a method also used to extract other hydrocarbons from different sources, like offshore oil drilling platforms, onshore gas wells and geothermal power plants.
What is natural gas?
Natural gas is the mixture of hydrocarbon gases that exists in the Earth’s atmosphere, which is primarily made up of methane. The methane in natural gas is a product of decayed organic matter and can be found naturally deep underground.
It’s colourless, odourless, non-toxic, and highly combustible. In other words, it’s one of the cleanest-burning fossil fuels on the market.
As a fossil fuel, natural gas is considered a non-renewable resource, because it takes millions of years for the organic matter in the Earth to break down and form the gas. However, it’s essentially a cleaner alternative to diesel and gasoline because it’s easy to transport and produce, and it emits less carbon dioxide when burned. As a result, natural gas is a popular fuel in the United States and one of the most important sources of energy.
Natural gas is also known as landfill gas, biogas, geothermal power, and coalbed methane. The variations of the name can be attributed to the different regions where natural gas is found — for example, in California, it’s known as ‘landfill gas’ because it’s extracted from old dump sites.
Over time, biogas collects in landfills from decomposing waste. Biogas is a popular name in geothermal energy because it’s commonly found in the same areas where geothermal power plants are most concentrated. Coalbed methane is an even more common name for natural gas because it’s mostly formed by decaying organic matter deep underground.
Can you recycle natural gas?
In this modern era, sustainable living is the goal for many people. People want to contribute to the environment in a way that doesn’t harm it. And one way to do this is through recycling. But what about natural gas? Is it possible to recycle it? For the most, natural gas isn’t recyclable since it’s nonrenewable. Remember this is a fossil fuel and once it’s been used, it cannot be replenished.
Furthermore, the process of recycling natural gas is quite difficult and requires special equipment and facilities. These are not easily accessible. That said, there is a way in which natural gas can be recycled. Recycling involves capturing and reusing the methane (an important part of natural gas) that would otherwise have been released into the air in landfills.
The decomposing waste in landfills not only releases methane into the air, but also emits other harmful pollutants.
So in essence, natural gas recycling is an attempt to capture the methane from landfills and other places where waste decomposes. The captured methane can then be processed and redirected for use as fuel or electricity generation.
There is also the gas that’s produced in the natural gas wells. This unused gas can either be vented or flared or captured and sold as fuel. Capturing it, however, is not a very straightforward process. It is not only important to find the right technology to extract the gas but also to get approval from local and state regulators.
Natural gas recycling, though still in its early stages, has already been an effective way to use this resource responsibly.
Is natural gas sustainable?
Natural gas is sustainable since it can be used to generate electricity with fewer CO2 emissions compared to coal. Natural gas is also easy to transport in pipelines and thus, is a popular fuel for residential use. In addition, the process of reusing methane from landfills reduces the number of harmful chemicals that would have been released into the atmosphere.
As a cleaner form of energy, natural gas is a promising option for many people. So is it truly sustainable? It’s too early to tell whether natural gas recycling will be able to entirely replace fossil fuels. Still, in the meantime, it’s been proven that there are ways in which natural gas can be recycled for clean energy.
The key factors for this process will be finding the right technology and getting approval from the regulatory body that regulates the extraction of natural gas.
Cleaner energy is constantly being developed and is a crucial part of more sustainable living. The use of natural gas reduces greenhouse gases and air pollution, so it’s a more sustainable fuel source, but it may not be truly sustainable since this fossil fuel cannot be replenished.
Final Thoughts
When it comes to recycling, many people don’t think of natural gas. While there are methods for doing this already implemented and in use, they’re not the most accessible or affordable options.
Nevertheless, looking into how to recycle natural gas and how to use it more responsibly is a great way to do your part for a cleaner environment.
FAQs
Is natural gas more environmentally friendly?
Natural gas is a popular clean-burning fossil fuel and its production of it uses less energy (from mining, drilling and transporting) than coal. However, natural gas can be harmful if leaks occur. Natural gas emits air pollutants that contribute to air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
These include volatile organic compounds (VOC), sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and methane. Methane is a significant greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.
What is the biggest problem with natural gas?
Drilling activities for natural gas extraction can cause surface and groundwater contamination. Compared to other fossil fuels, natural gas is mostly found in deposits underground, which makes it difficult to extract. Also, methane leaks during its extraction process (mainly in the first stage) and this can be harmful to the environment.
