Personnel representing the Union of Concerned Scientists reported in 2015 that natural gas has a broad range of other uses in industry, as a source of both heat and power and as an input for producing plastics and chemicals. Most hydrogen gas (H2) production, for example, comes from reacting high temperature water vapor (steam) with methane. Today, the resulting hydrogen is mostly used to produce ammonia for fertilizer, one of the most important industrial products derived from natural gas.
Hydrogen produced from natural gas can itself be used as a fuel. The most efficient way to convert hydrogen into electricity is by using a fuel cell, which combines hydrogen with oxygen to produce electricity, water, and heat. Although the process of reforming natural gas to hydrogen still has associated carbon dioxide emissions, the amount released for each unit of electricity generated is much lower than for a combustion turbine.
Compressed natural gas (CNG) has been used as a transportation fuel, mostly in public transit. CNG, which is compressed at over 3,000 psi to one percent of the volume the gas would occupy at normal atmospheric pressure, can be burned in an internal combustion engine that has been appropriately modified. About 0.1 percent of the natural gas consumed in the United States in 2012 powered vehicles, representing the energy content of more than 5 million barrels of oil.
Compared to gasoline, CNG vehicles emit far less carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulates. The main disadvantage of CNG is its low energy density compared with liquid fuels. A gallon of CNG has only a quarter of the energy in a gallon of gasoline. CNG vehicles therefore require big, bulky fuel tanks, making CNG practical mainly for large vehicles such as buses and trucks.
In most cases, a better use for natural gas in the transportation sector would be as a resource to generate electricity for plug-in vehicles or hydrogen for fuel cell vehicles, which can provide global warming emissions savings on the order of 40 or more percent.
The wide range of uses for natural gas makes it a critical resource for the United States and world economies. This versatility also means that changes in natural gas demand for one use can affect gas prices for many other applications. During the 1990s, natural gas prices in the United States were generally low and stable. The major expansion of natural gas use in power plants led to steady increases in gas prices for all uses, including home heating and industry. Since the early 2000s, gas prices have been notable for their volatility. After spiking to record levels in 2005 and 2008, prices after the global economic downturn are at their lowest in eight years.
Part of this volatility stems from the difficulties in transporting gas where pipeline infrastructure is not already in place. Because of this limitation, there is no worldwide market price for natural gas, and local prices can be heavily dependent on regional production and availability.
The dependence on regional gas supplies can also threaten countries’ energy security. Much of Eastern and Central Europe’s natural gas supply comes from Russia and passes through pipelines in several different countries on its way westward. Repeated disputes between Russia and Ukraine, for instance, have led to gas shutoffs that have caused shortages in countries as distant as France and Italy.
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