Natural Gas

Compressed natural gas CNG) is methane stored under high pressure. It is made by compressing methane to less than 1% of its volume. It is a non-toxic and relatively safe form of energy. It is mainly used in vehicles. This is important because as the world progressed, more petrol started to be consumed, which has proven to be toxic to the environment. In this context, CNG offers a more eco-friendly alternative to petrol.

History

In about 500 BC, the Chinese discovered places where natural gas seeped to the surface. They built crude pipelines using bamboo to transport the gas and usedit to boil seawater. This separated the water from the salt, making the water potable and providing salt to season food.

The first commercial experiments with CNG took place in France in the 1850s. It eventually grew in popularity and during World War I, it was used as fuel for transport vehicles. By the 1960s, tests were being conducted by the Columbian government to see if the gas could power large carrier ships. The ships were to carry CNG in vertical pressure bottles. However, this design failed because of the high cost of the pressure vessels. In the following years, there were several

attempts to develop CNG that could be used commercially. Once these attempts succeeded, CNG started to be transported across the world for commercial use.

The Process