school energy&environment
Natural gas
Natural gas is the last fossil source of energy to be used on a global scale. For over a century, when the gas was discovered in areas that were far from the places where it could be utilized, it was preferably burnt at the gas well or freed into the atmosphere, because harnessing it in a pipeline and making it travel for many kilometres was too expensive. The situation has changed over the past forty years and today natural gas ranks third in world consumption of energy and is the fossil source with the best growth prospects. In the Seventies with the creation of transport infrastructures for importing natural gas, the producer countries and the consumers defined typical contract agreements that are reference models still today.
From the Seventies up to date world consumption of gas has tripled, growing from 100 billion cubic metres to approximately 3,584 cubic meters in 2016. Data updated to 2016, indicate that Italy produces 5.65 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year and consumes 69.27 billion cubic metres a year.
(Source: eni, World Oil and Gas Review 2017)
subjects dealt with in Natural gas
Natural gas knowledge
Natural gas is a fossil fuel like oil and coal. It is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mostly methane, and other…
Extraction and distribution
Often, albeit not always, natural gas is extracted from the same fields as oil. Just like oil, natural gas is…
Uses
Thanks to its several economic and environmental benefits, in the latest years natural gas has converted into the main fossil…
Methane hydrates
At the beginning of the Nineties, in marine geology research environments, word began to spread about a particular substance present…
Environment and territory
The extreme flexibility of natural gas makes it one of the fuels easier to use, whereas the low content of…
special reports
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Is lithium the new petroleum?
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The relentless growth of renewable energy sources continues... The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (Ren21) periodically publishes…
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23 October 2017 / Air
Carbon Footprint
CO2 emissions and lifestyles If your parents decide to buy a new car, they might be attracted by a car…
13 May 2018 / Earth
Small steps, great footprints
Which one takes up more space, an apple or a steak? Have you ever wondered how much space is taken…
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12 June 2022 / Energy
Wind power in Italy: where do we stand?
Humans have been using wind power since ancient times. Indeed, wind power has been used for thousands of years in…
30 April 2022 / Energy
Solar energy in Italy: where do we stand?
The Sun is the main source of energy on our planet, from which we derive almost all the forms of…
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5 September 2021 / Energy
Faraday, an electrifying biography
"The important thing is to know how to take all things quietly". This is one of the most famous quotes…
14 July 2021 / Energy
Italy's renewable sources
Renewable energy sources in Italy The Energy Services Operator (GSE) periodically publishes data and statistics on the renewable energy sources…
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18 February 2021 / Energy
Is lithium the new petroleum?
In 1925, Charlie Chaplin dedicated one of his most famous films to the “gold rush”, a phenomenon that in the…
6 June 2020 / Energy
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Small introductory manual for aspiring composters Once upon a time there was the orange peel Once upon a time there…
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17 March 2020 / Energy
Energy and renewable sources: what is the current status?
The relentless growth of renewable energy sources continues... The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (Ren21) periodically publishes…
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23 October 2017 / Air
Carbon Footprint
CO2 emissions and lifestyles If your parents decide to buy a new car, they might be attracted by a car…
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13 May 2018 / Earth
Small steps, great footprints
Which one takes up more space, an apple or a steak? Have you ever wondered how much space is taken…
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12 June 2022 / Energy
Wind power in Italy: where do we stand?
Humans have been using wind power since ancient times. Indeed, wind power has been used for thousands of years in…
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30 April 2022 / Energy
Solar energy in Italy: where do we stand?
The Sun is the main source of energy on our planet, from which we derive almost all the forms of…
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5 September 2021 / Energy
Faraday, an electrifying biography
"The important thing is to know how to take all things quietly". This is one of the most famous quotes…
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Italy's renewable sources
Renewable energy sources in Italy The Energy Services Operator (GSE) periodically publishes data and statistics on the renewable energy sources…
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18 February 2021 / Energy
Is lithium the new petroleum?
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6 June 2020 / Energy
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Small introductory manual for aspiring composters Once upon a time there was the orange peel Once upon a time there…
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17 March 2020 / Energy
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The relentless growth of renewable energy sources continues... The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (Ren21) periodically publishes…
from the Multimedia section
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Orimulsion
In order to improve supply security, and therefore the diversification of sources to produce electric energy...
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Cracking operations
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Electricity and electrons
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Geographical distribution of energy
Every day the Earth receives enough solar energy to satisfy the global energy need. Unfortunately we cannot exploit all this…
An artificial geyser
Electric and thermal power produced from geothermal energy depend on the existence of underground infiltrations...
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Hydrogen from biomass
Hydrogen is an energy carrier that allows to generate energy in an environmentally sustainable way...
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Some curiosities about methane hydrates
The melting of the ice cells, not only brings about the release of methane gas, but it also produces another…
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Orimulsion
In order to improve supply security, and therefore the diversification of sources to produce electric energy...
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Cracking operations
At the end of the fractional distillation, long hydrocarbon molecules can be transformed into lighter molecules by means of more…
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Where does energy come from?
Every day the Earth receives enough solar energy to satisfy the global energy need...
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Electricity and electrons
In all electric plants, excluding photovoltaic solar plants, mechanic energy is transformed into electric energy through the same basic procedure...
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Peat and peat-bogs
The age of coal starts towards the mid 1600s, stimulated by the need for finding an alternative energy source to…
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Geographical distribution of energy
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Electric and thermal power produced from geothermal energy depend on the existence of underground infiltrations...
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Hydrogen is an energy carrier that allows to generate energy in an environmentally sustainable way...