Natural Gas and Hydrogen »

Energy and the Environment is a six-volume set that examines the history, technology, science, and environmental and social implications (including issues of environmental justice) associated with the acquisition and production of energy. Designed to complement science curricula, each volume describes comprehensively one or more sources of energy and the technology needed to make it useful. The books emphasize the science on which such technology is based, the limitations of each technology, the environmental effects of its use, questions of availability and cost, and the way that government policies and energy markets interact.

Natural Gas and Hydrogen is a timely overview of the complex relationship the world has with two significant sources of gaseous fuel. The book discusses the business of natural gas production and the energy futures markets that have evolved as vehicles for speculation and risk management. It also focuses on the possible advantages of adopting hydrogen as a viable source of energy, as well as on the inevitable obstacles that hamper large-scale fuel switching. The author includes an exclusive interview with Dr. Ray Boswell of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory in which Boswell discusses his work in identifying and characterizing methane hydrate reserves, one of the most promising fields of energy research today.

The volume includes information on

early gas technologies and policies

electricity generation

energy markets and energy politics

government policies

a hydrogen economy

the origin and nature of natural gas

the physical and chemical properties of hydrogen

the restructured natural gas market

Thebook contains more than 40 color photographs and line illustrations, sidebars, a chronology, a list of acronyms, a glossary, a detailed list of print and Internet resources, and an index. Energy and the Environment is essential for high school students, teachers, and general readers who wish to learn about the effects of large-scale energy production and consumption on society.

Energy and The Environment Set

Biofuels

Coal and Oil

Natural Gas and Hydrogen

Nuclear Energy

Solar and Geothermal Energy

Wind and Water

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction xiv

Part 1 Natural Gas 1

1 Early Gas Technologies and Policies 3

Coal Gas 5

The End of Coal Gas 8

Early Attempts to Use Natural Gas 10

Early Attempts at Regulation 14

2 The Nature of Natural Gas 21

The Origin of Natural Gas 23

Synthetic Gas 33

Carbon Dioxide Sequestration 38

3 Transporting and Storing Natural Gas 44

Gas Pipelines 45

The Energy Content of Natural Gas 49

Liquefied Natural Gas 50

Natural Gas Storage 54

4 Electricity Generation 59

The Production of Heat 59

Energy Conversion 62

Alternatives to Natural Gas 66

Effects on the Environment 70

5 The Restructured Natural Gas Market 78

Pipelines: A Natural Monopoly 79

The Changing Nature of Natural Gas 84

Natural Gas Storage: No Longer a Monopoly 86

6 Energy Markets and Energy Politics 93

Prices and Profits in the Natural Gas Industry 95

Energy Policies and Their Effects 103

An Interview with Ray Boswell about Methane Hydrate Research 104

Part 2 Hydrogen 117

7 The Physical and Chemical Properties of Hydrogen 119

Hydrogen Production 121

Onboard Hydrogen Storage 128

Energy Conversion 134

Hydrogen Safety 138

8 The Hydrogen Economy 144

The Transition to a Hydrogen Economy 145

How Long until the Hydrogen Economy? 152

Characteristics of the Hydrogen Economy 154

9 Government Policies 163

Politics versus Physics 165

The Hydrogen Marketplace Today 168

Current Hydrogen Research 170

Chronology 176

List of Acronyms 180

Glossary 181

Further Resources 184

Index 188