Chapter 4 - Production of Hydrocarbons from Natural Gas

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This chapter discusses the production of hydrocarbons from natural gas. Natural gas, which is predominantly methane, occurs in underground reservoirs separately or in association with crude oil. The principal types of hydrocarbons produced from natural gas are methane (CH4) and varying amounts of higher-molecular-weight hydrocarbons from ethane (CH3CH3) to octane [CH3 (CH2)6CH3]. While natural gas is predominantly a mixture of combustible hydrocarbons, many natural gases also contain nitrogen (N2) as well as carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The gas from coal (town gas) is a mixture of methane and other gases, mainly carbon monoxide, which can be used in a similar way to natural gas. Although coal gasification is not usually economic at current gas prices, the depletion of petroleum and gas reserves, and related infrastructure considerations, allows coal to be a viable future option for gas production and (via the Fischer–Tropsch process) a plentiful source of hydrocarbons.

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