Homestead mailing list

[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Gene GeRue wrote:
> On Jan 14, 2009, at 12:40 PM, Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:
>
> > We have so much natural gas that there are stories of wells 
> > exploding from natural gas and an electrical spark from the pump.
>
> Have many Irish there? Such stories are blarney. Pumps are not 
> enclosed in buildings, which is where conditions for explosion are 
> most common. Natural gas does not burn (explode is just real fast 
> burn) unless it and oxygen are at certain levels. From my Pacific Gas
>  & Electric days I vaguely recall the number being about fourteen 
> percent, either way.
>
> I used to put on a fun show for my fellow workers and spectators when
>  our crew would be out fixing a bad leak where the gas was blowing 
> hard. I would casually take a deep drag on my ciggie and then, with 
> the ciggie end glowing brightly, wave my arm over the gas. The 
> sidewalk supers would fade back. Not to fear. The pressure disallows 
> ignition.


Maybe not blarney, and I think the Irish might know.
The words natural gas are kind of generic.  The very type of explosion
Lynn mentions from drilling could very well be caused by methane
hydrates which can often be found on coalbeds or near oil.  I doubt the
sparks have anything to do with it(unless the methane was trapped in a
coal storage silo or boxcar or other 'container' , but the sudden change
in pressure from drilling causes the methane to explode.  This has
wrecked quite a few oil wells off Ireland and in the North Sea.

If we can figure out a way to safely process methane hydrates into fuel,
we are set for the next 500 years.  As the permafrost in Alaska melts,
these hydrates are being released.

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methane_clathrate
From Wiki:

> > Methane clathrates (hydrates) are also commonly formed during
> > natural
> gas production operations, when liquid water is condensed in the 
> presence of methane at high pressure. It is known that larger 
> hydrocarbon molecules such as ethane and propane can also form
> hydrates, although as the molecule length increases (butanes,
> pentanes), they cannot fit into the water cage structure and tend to
> destabilise the formation of hydrates. Once formed, hydrates can
> block pipeline and processing equipment. They are generally then
> removed by reducing the pressure, heating them, or dissolving them by
> chemical means (methanol is commonly used). Care must be taken to
> ensure that the removal of the hydrates is carefully controlled,
> because of the risk of massive increases in pressure as the methane
> is released, and the potential for the hydrate to let go with high
> velocity as it is exposed to a high pressure differential.
>
> It is generally preferable to prevent hydrates from forming or 
> blocking equipment. This is commonly achieved by removing water, or 
> by the addition of ethylene glycol (MEG) or methanol, which act to 
> depress the temperature at which hydrates will form. In recent years,
>  development of other forms of hydrate inhibitors have been
> developed, such as Kinetic Hydrate Inhibitors (which dramatically
> slow the rate of hydrate formation) and anti-agglomerates, which do
> not prevent hydrates forming, but do prevent them sticking together
> to block equipment.

I clipped this because it might apply to the article Lynn posted.

Bev


--
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will
not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius
will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone
are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race"

~ Calvin Coolidge