Just the Beginning of Natural Gas

Hello everyone, I'm the second/other blogger, Crystal. Here is my first, amazing blog post. My awesome topic: natural gas. Enjoy!

Blue flame of natural gas

In the areas of present-day Iraq, there were stories of “eternal fires” from Plutarch’s writings around 100 to 125 A.D., which was most likely natural gas seeping from cracks in the ground and ignited by lightning. I'm quite sure I would be freaked out if I saw this myself, but good for Plutarch for writing it down.

The first drilled natural gas well was in 1821 in Fredonia, New York by William H. Hart, who drilled a 27-foot deep well. Natural gas was used mainly as fuel for lamps in the 1800's, but after the invention of the ‘Bunsen Burner’ in 1855, natural gas demonstrated its greater potential for heating and cooking. Pipelines were needed to transmit natural gas and in 1891, a 120-mile long pipeline was completed to transport natural gas from central Indiana to Chicago. After World War II with improvements in metals and welding techniques, a pipeline network was constructed in the 1950's and 1960's. 

Today, there is a vast network of natural gas pipelines. Just look at all the blue lines!

Today's U.S. natural gas pipelines

Natural gas can be found in shale formations, sandstone beds, and coal seams. The diagram below illustrates the process of hydraulic fracturing, the process to get natural gas out of the ground. I will delve deeper into this topic later, but for now I hope this simple diagram will satisfy your curiosity.

In Arizona, the largest natural gas-fired plant produces 2,060 MW at the Gila River Power Station. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2012 Arizona produced 117 million cu ft. of natural gas, a small fraction of the overall U.S. natural gas production. About one-third of Arizonans use natural gas as their primary home heating source. In your household, what do you use natural gas for?

Gila River Power Station, Arizona

That's enough for now. I'm a little beat from all this talk about natural gas. But remember, this is just the beginning of natural gas, so more information soon to follow. Have an amazing day!

Coal - The Beginning

So to start this blog off 'right,' let's begin through a brief introduction: I am one half of a Crystal & Dan team-up (specifically, the Dan half). Our goal? World domination through the coal and natural gas industries. Of course, that's a big step, so we'll start off small by focusing on the coal and natural gas industry within the U.S. state of Arizona.

For the non-Americans seeing this blog, Arizona is located here.

(Aside: our posts might differ in content and might not match up with each other (as we will be focusing on differing aspects and things). Still, it is our hope that you'll soon see the connections between both as this blog evolves.)

In any case, to even begin contemplating that, it's always best to gather as much resources as possible. To me, this means going back in time and seeing why the coal industry even came to be. So, without further ado, let us delve into some historical goodness!

Coal has been used for heating and smelting for an incredibly long time. Records in China indicate that surface mining has been happening since 3500 B.C. To give a comparison, this is before Ancient Egypt was a thing, and the Sahara had yet to become a desert.

So while it was a long-known element, the U.S. didn't really take advantage of its own resources until around 1850, when it began to take over wood as the primary heating source. Fast-forward to more current time (let's say around... 2000), and Arizona is both a state and one of the 26 coal producers (though it produces the least of every other state). Its sole source of coal is Kayenta Mine.

Strip Mine A, Kayenta Mine

According to U.S. Energy Information Administration, this mine provides about 7.5 million short tons of coal to be burned annually at the Navajo Generating Station, one of Arizona's 7 currently running coal-fired power plants. With all their powers combined, these plants generate roughly 25% of the energy produced in the state.

So coal isn't a minor thing in Arizona! Next post, I'll do some research on the key players (READ: the companies, etc.).

Test Post - Dan

This is a test of the National Dan Administration. Testing testing 1 2 3 lorem ipsum