A+Block+-+Gas

Zach Rubin 12/9/12 A Block Katie __Background Research of Natural Gas__ Natural Gas is a flammable gas consists largely of methane and other hydrocarbons, occurring naturally underground and used as fuel. Natural gas might be considered an uninteresting gas which is colorless, shapeless, and odorless in its most untainted form. When the United States burns natural gas which is combustible, it gives off a great deal of energy and few emissions. When natural gas burns, the burning is clean and emits lower levels of potentially harmful side-effects into the air. Some of the typical compositions of Natural Gas are: Methane, Oxygen, Propane, Nitrogen, and Carbon Dioxide. Natural gas is considered 'dry' when it is almost pure methane and when other hydrocarbons are present; the natural gas is 'wet.' Natural gasses make products like “petrochemicals”. These chemicals serve as building blocks to manufacturing products such as detergents, drugs, fertilizers, and paints. These products are made from the various compounds of hydrogen and carbon. These Hydrocarbons either come in solid, liquid, or gas by the number and arrangement of the hydrogen and carbon atoms. Explorations for gasses have been productive (finding things have been easy). We have been using a worldwide supply of natural gas. When the oil is found, you must first build a well that produces it and then you must distribute it. The natural gas from a well must be cleaned and treated to take out dust, sulfur, and water before it would go to processing plants. Scientist claim that gas goes through pipe lines at about fifteen miles per hour.

__Map of Energy in New Mexico__

These are some examples to show how useable and save Natural gas is but it is extremely flammable.

There is a lot of steps to the combustion of methane but the overall equation is: CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O (//ΔH// = −891 [|k][|J]/[|mol] (at standard conditions)) Energy during these steps are transferred during a molecular collision. [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methan] Human-related activities include creation of fossil fuel, animal usage, growing rice, plant burning, and waste management.Natural sources of methane include wetlands, gas hydrates, permafrost, termites, oceans, freshwater bodies, non-wetland soils, and other sources such as wildfires. []

[] New Mexico has the third richest gas reserves in the country. The Permain Basin and the San Juan Basin are New Mexico's largest reserves. The San Juan Basin is the largest in the United States. Using 1,600 miles of pipeline transportation, we distribute more than 80 billion cubic feet of gas every year. "The world has enough natural gas to meet the current demands for 250 years," says the International Energy Agency. For most countries, using more natural gas for power generation can make the largest contribution to meeting their emission reduction targets. It emits 50-70% less carbon dioxide than coal when burnt to generate electricity. Shell is working to produce more natural gas, and by 2012 Shell's production will be more gas than oil. They are trying to open and harvest gas from inside rock pores which are 20,000 times smaller than a human hair.

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[|New Mexico Electricity Industry Summary] | [|Commercial Energy Statistics] | [|Industrial Energy Consumption Statistics] | [|Residential Energy Statistics] | [|New Mexico] [|Transportation Energy Statistics] | [|Pollution Summary] | [|Carbon Footprint]
 * [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=75 width="200" height="75" align="left" caption="United States Nuclear Energy Usage" link="http://www.eredux.com/coal/"]]

New Mexico has a per capita Carbon Score of 9. New Mexico has the 36th highest resident population. Each New Mexico resident, per population average, produces approximately 32 Tons of Carbon Dioxide each year. New Mexico has a total Carbon output state rank of #35, and is the #35th highest Carbon Dioxide polluting state in the [|United States].

New Mexico is rich in fossil fuel and renewable energy resources. Major oil and gas deposits are located in the Permian Basin in southeast New Mexico and in the San Juan Basin in the northwest. The San Juan Basin Gas Area is the largest field of proved natural gas reserves in the United States. New Mexico's Permian Basin contains three of the 100 largest oil fields in the United States. The northwest corner of the State contains major coal deposits. Much of New Mexico's geologically active Rocky Mountain region holds geothermal power potential, and pockets of the State are suitable for wind power development. New Mexico's southern deserts offer the State's most concentrated solar power potential. Although rich in energy resources, New Mexico has low energy demand due in large part to its small population. The transportation and industrial sectors lead State energy consumption. EIA Release Date Information for New Mexico: US Department of Energy || how much of what types of energy we use (natural gas). []
 * **New Mexico** **Electricity Industry Summary Statistics (2005)** ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Coal || 39th |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50 width="200" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Primary Electricity Fuel Source |||||| Summer Capacity Rank | 6,480 MW: Total Net (MW) Summer Capacity ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
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 * Megawatt Hours || 37th |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50 width="200" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * |||||| Net Generation Rank | 35,135,642 MWh: Net Generation (MWh) ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * **New Mexico** **Commercial Energy Consumption Ranking** ||  ||   ||   ||
 * 36th || 119.7 |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50 width="200" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Commercial Ranking (most by State) |||||| Commercial BTU's ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
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 * **New Mexico** **Industrial Energy Consumption Ranking** ||  ||   ||   ||
 * 35th || 212.3 |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50 width="200" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Industrial Ranking (most by State) |||||| Industrial BTU's ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
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 * **New Mexico** **Residential Energy Consumption Ranking** ||  ||   ||   ||
 * 40th || 101.6 |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50 width="200" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Residential Ranking (most by State) |||||| Residential BTU's ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
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 * **New Mexico** **Transportation Energy Consumption Ranking** ||  ||   ||   ||
 * 34th || 229.4 |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50 width="200" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Transportation Ranking (most by State) |||||| Transportation BTU's ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
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 * Megawatt Hours || 37th |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50 width="200" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * |||||| Net Generation Rank | 35,135,642 MWh: Net Generation (MWh) ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * **New Mexico** **Pollution Summary** ||  ||   ||   ||
 * SO2, SO3 || 38th |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50 width="200" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Sulfur Dioxide Output |||||| Sulfur Dioxide Rank | 28,000: Sulfur Dioxide Emissions in Metric Tons ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
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 * NOx, NO and NO2 || 36th |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=200&h=50 width="200" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Nitrogen Oxide Output |||||| Nitrogen Oxide Rank | 69,000: Nitrogen Oxide Emissions in Metric Tons ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
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 * **New Mexico** **Carbon Dioxide Footprint Data (Million Metric Tons of Carbon Dioxide) Per Year** ||  ||   ||   ||
 * CO2 Output || 35th |||| [[image:http://abhsscience.wikispaces.com/site/embedthumbnail/placeholder?w=560&h=50 width="560" height="50"]] ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Carbon Output |||||| State Ranking (most consumption) | 57.62 Total Carbon Output ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
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 * 1.73 || 7.79 || 2.16 || 15.47 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Commercial Carbon Output || Industrial Carbon Output || Residential Carbon Output || Transportation's Carbon Output ||  ||   ||   ||   ||
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 * 30.47 ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
 * Electric Carbon Output ||  ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||   ||
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Benefits And Drawbacks Benefits - There are many benefits of natural gas, one of them is the cleanest fossil fuel, it only releases carbon dioxide and water vapor. It is cheaper than gasoline, and can be safely stored and burned. It can also provide a electricity for a longer time than other fossil fuels. Drawbacks - Although it is the most cleanliness the carbon dioxide that is released contributes to the greenhouse effect and very damaging to our ecosystem. It also has a difficult storing and transporting which costs a lot to make the pipelines to get it transferred. It also leaves an large impact on our Earth when extracted. Natural gas is the most common cause of carbon monoxide deaths.

__Self Summary of Zach Rubin__ I think I have done my part in this project for I have provided the background research, maps, pictures and current information about the sciences in Natural Gas. I have provided a lot background research clearly explaining what Natural Gas is, what it is used for and our exploration of it.

__Literature Cited__ -Zach Rubin
 * 1) Methane. (2012, December 11). //Wikipedia//. Retrieved December 14, 2012, from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MethanNew
 * 2) Sources and Emissions | Methane | Climate Change | U.S. EPA. (2011, April 18). //US Environmental Protection Agency//. Retrieved December 16, 2012, from http://www.epa.gov/outreach/sources.html