Applications of Natural Gas
Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a technology, giving the possibility to realize deliveries of natural gas to all customers, located outside the gas distribution networks of the monopolists and their network, allowing these customers to take advantage of natural gas with competitive prices and no conditions, imposed by the network operators. Natural gas provides high levels of comfort when used for heating offices, kindergartens, schools and hospitals. Natural gas is convenient and easy to use. It can assure the necessary quantities of hot water and heating. Natural gas is also used for preparing tasty meals. The substitution of petroleum products with natural gas leads to palpable reduction of the contamination and guarantees cleaner and healthier environment. Natural gas is the right choice for those who watch the spending of their resources and those who would like to breathe cleaner air. The realized savings without compromising the efficacy, means more free monetary resource, which could be invested in the production – for purchasing new machinery or for additional training of the employees. The advantages are already realized by many companies in different sectors of the economy, such as dairy farms, grain-drying factories, factories for drying tobacco, tailoring establishments, printing house, foundries, factories for creating metal products, construction companies (asphalt bases), mining industry and many more. Natural gas is a secure source of energy. Security while using natural gas is guaranteed by the strict following of all safety norms in the Republic of Bulgaria. Natural gas allows strict control of the used amount of energy. With the control equipment, at any moment you know the exact quantity of gas that was consumed. This way you pay only for the really used quantity of natural gas.
Natural gas is the cheapest source of energy in Bulgaria. By using natural gas, you realize savings of financial resource
Natural gas is available to you, no matter if you have access to the gas transportation network or not. It is not necessary to fill in a form for joining the gas network. It is not necessary to sign a contract for joining, or to pay taxes for that. It is not necessary to give consent for joining
Natural gas could be used for heating, cooling, creation of hot water for industrial and household needs and as fuel in the automotive transport
Devices, burners, and steam generators that use natural gas as a fuel have a high coeficient of useful activity. Using natural gas in your instalations allows the increase of your competitiveness and to decrease the cost price of the produced goods or services. Consuming natural gas guarantees that the investment will be returned in a short period of time. Natural gas is a source of energy, giving the possibility of introducing to your business the newest world technologies
When substituting traditional petroleum products with natural gas, the harmful emissions, released in the atmosphere when burning them, are reduced, leading to a better state of the environment. It results in decreasing the release of fine dust particles and soot in the air. The emissions of natural gas are well known and have clear advantages for the natural gas in comparison with other fossil fuels. The emissions of CO2 (for one unit of produced energy) of natural gas are around 50% lower than coal and 30% lower than petrol. The superiority of natural gas over other fuels is reinforced when the emissions are compared in terms of the main pollutants of the air, including fine dust particles PM2.5, sulfur oxides (mainly sulfur dioxide SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Those three pollutants are responsible for the highest impact on air pollution. The burning of natural gas generates considerably lower levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and practicaly does not produce emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and produces insignificant levels of fine dust particles. Using coal dominates the global emissions of SO2. Petroleum products, used in transportation are the dominant source of NOx, while burning wood and other traditional hard fuels are responsible for over half of the current emissions of fine dust particles PM2.5.
Areas of application
M-Gas supplies natural gas to companies across a wide spectrum of the economy:
- Mining industry
- Glass and ceramics industry
- Production of ceramic blocks
- Petrochemical industry
- Metallurgy
- Pharmaceutical industry
- Heat and electricity production
- Cement production
- Pulp and paper industry
- Mining of fire clays, quartz sands, dolomites, kaolin, feldspar, chamotte and limestone
- Food and beverage industries – grain dryers, feed mills, dairies and meat processing plants
- Road construction companies owning asphalt bases
- Heavy-freight vehicles, owned by a large number of road transport companies
- Public administration sector – hospitals, schools and kindergartens
Advantages of Natural Gas
The natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons, methane CH4, ethane C2H6 and insignificant part of hevier hydrocarbons – penthane C5H16, hexthane C7H16 and others. The natural gas is a primary energy source – it is extracted from the earth in contrast with propane-butane, which is obtained by the oil refining. The natural gas is lighter than air. The temperature of self-ignition is 537 degrees Celsius at atmospheric conditions. The combustion heat of natural gas is 7000-9300 kilocalories per cubic meter. The natural gas is an ecologically clean fuel and has the lowest price among other sources of energy.
Natural gas is an alternative fuel and its use is encouraged by the European Union. The natural gas finds wider applications as a primary fuel for motor transport vehicles with internal combustion engine. From all hydrocarbon gases, natural gas has the most hydrogen in per one carbon atom, which is why it has a high temperature when burning, a fuller burning process and a lower content of toxic materials. The natural gas releases the most heat while burning, which leads to an improved combustion economy of engines and thermal efficiency of useful activity. Considering equal aggregate state of the air and the natural gas, the mixture formation between them is many times better and the burning is fuller. The usage of natural gas allows the toxic substances, soot and the smoke from the exhaust gases to be reduced 4 times. The natural gas is the most ecologically clean fuel for machines with internal combustion after hydrogen. To have enough reserve fuel for the engine, the natural gas has to be “prepared” in advance. The ways to do that are the following two:
- Thickening (compressing) to high pressure 20 МРА
- Liquefying of natural gas through cooling to -162 degrees С
The combination of high pressure and minus temperatures leads to optimizing the process of transporting the natural gas. At -40 degrees Celsius and pressure of 250 bars, the most amount of natural gas could be transported.
Ecology
The policy of environment protection of M-Gas is in accordance with the strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the area of protecting the environment and the ecological safety. The execution of the ecology policy of M-Gas allows constant improvement of the state of the environment. The purpose of the ecology policies of M-Gas is to improve the air quality in the populated areas of the country through increasing the usage of natural gas in transport and in production plants. M-Gas utilizes current technologies that spare negative effects on the environment. M-Gas ensures the following of the European and Bulgarian legislation, connected to the protection of the environment. The main aspects of the ecology policy of M-Gas are:
The main aspects of the ecology policy of M-Gas are:
Increasing the usage of natural gas in the transport and industry as it is the cleanest and ecological fuel
Following the rules and norms of the European and Bulgarian legislation and current standards with regards to the environment
Ensuring safe and unproblematic operation of the enterprises for CNG and the transport of CNG equipment.
Creating healthy and safe conditions for working for all participants in the process of compression, delivery and usage of natural gas.
Expected ecological and social effect:
Considerable reduction of harmful substances in the air and the full removal of solid dust particles, sulfur oxides and soot
Eliminating possible spills of liquid petroleum products while transporting them
Tangible improvement of the conditions of work and the quality of life for the people in populated areas, where ecological bus transport is being used.
Considerable decrease of the costs for businesses that use natural gas for their technological and transportation needs
