The Power of Natural Gas

Gas is one of the three classic states of matter, alongside liquid and solids, and today, gas plays a major role in industries around the world. The very atmosphere of the planet is made of various gases, and gas is a fact of life for nearly everyone. Industries in the United States, meanwhile, care a great deal about gas of all different kinds. Calibration gas, for example, is highly refined gas in canisters used to test other gas canisters at the work place. calibration gas bottles can be acquired from calibration gas suppliers as needed, and natural gas is another field of gas in industry today. Natural gas is widely harvested around the world as a fossil fuel source, and when burned, it releases fewer air pollutants into the atmosphere. In today’s context, air pollutants such as oil and coal are coming under heavy criticism for their ecological damage and threat to human safety, which is why other energy sources are being considered. Some say that natural gas, with its safer emissions, is a suitable alternative, and others push for even cleaner energy sources such as solar or wind. What is there to know about gas and industry today?

Natural Gas

American businesses are greatly interested in natural gas as a power source. In fact, one fourth of all primary energy in the United States comes from natural gas, and many American homes and businesses alike are powered with it. Nearly 5.4 million American businesses get their power this way, and the same is true for nearly 66.7 million American houses. How much gas is used? The average American home uses about 196 cubic feet of it per day, and this can add up to a generous amount of natural gas consumed per year. This industry is a big one; it supports the employment of close to three million Americans, and the global market for it is growing. Estimates show that the worldwide market for this grow 2% per year in the coming years, and it may overtake coal’s demand by the year 2030. Often, this gas is found in conventional reservoirs, about 82% of it.

One may wonder: can natural gas be ranked among harmful air pollutants today? Yes, and no. Due to this gas’s efficiency, it emits 52-56% less GHG than coal does to produce the same amount of energy. This makes it a safer form of air pollutants, since it has higher efficiency than most other fossil fuels to meet current energy demands. In fact, the natural gas used in American businesses and homes boasts a 92% energy efficiency rate. Air pollutants are not nonexistent, however, since a lot of methane is released during this gas’s harvesting. Ecological damage may also happen during harvesting, which is a point of contention among some. The industry is powerful and robust, so future debates may need to be held to decide what natural gas’s future may look like.

Calibration Gas

Gas is not limited to power sources. Different gases are often found in pressurizes containers in many different workplaces, and the applications vary. Some gases are used for welding, and others are needed for the operation of laser cutting heads. Pressurized gas tends to be very concentrated and pure, and there is a very low tolerance for impurities in pressurized gas canisters. But sometimes, such imperfections may occur, so gas calibration standards must be applied.

What is calibration gas? It is a high-quality gas in a canister whose perfect quality is assured. It is meant to be used not in industry, but as a control group for other canisters of the same gas type. It is a measuring stick of sorts. If workers at a site suspect that their gas canisters are contaminated, this imperfect gas can hamper work. For this reason, calibration gas canisters will be ordered, and once they arrive, the workers compare both gases to each other. The calibration gas, being a known quantity, is a fine metric for the possibly compromised gas canister. If the results are positive, then the defective gas canister can be sent back to the manufacturer, and a new canister of purer, more useful gas may be received. Faulty gas can easily be spotted when calibration gas arrives and is compared to it.