Natural gas is found in deep underground rock formations mostly near petroleum and coal reservoirs. A hydrocarbon fuel that mainly consists of methane (85%), ethane and traces of other gases. It’s considered a clean fuel as it produces significantly lower Carbon emissions with no solid waste. When burnt, Natural gas produces 45% less Carbon dioxide than coal, 30% less than oil and 15% less than wood while producing nearly the same amount of energy as its fossil fuel siblings.
These clean emissions (majorly CO2 and water vapor) are safe for human, wild and plant life, combined with its versatile properties, abundance, efficient transport and lower maintenance and usage cost, that helped its widespread use as an energy source in industry, heating homes, electricity and vehicles. While some consider this widespread as an alarm bell even with the clean-burning properties of natural gas, It still produces greenhouse gases (CO2) into earth’s atmosphere as a byproduct which contributes to overall temperature increase and change in the ecosystem, others see natural gas as a “bridge fuel” or “anchor” to achieve greenhouse gas reduction by switching to it while developing more reliable renewable energy extraction methods especially in the solar and wind sources.
Natural gas will play a major role in the global transition towards a low-carbon future and eco-friendly industry.