One of the most amazing things in our modern world is that it is largely made of gas. We often think that gas can only be used for cooking on stoves, but in reality, it is also used to make screens for phones and TVs, paints, plastic containers for food appliances, medical devices, and satellite antennas.
Natural gas is a complex mixture consisting mainly of methane, with about 85-88% methane and the remaining 12-15% being valuable impurities that need to be separated. Separating these components is not an easy task, but modern facilities are being built for this purpose.
The Amurskii gazopererabativayushchii zavod is a large gas processing plant located north of Blagoveshchensk. It covers an area equivalent to over 1100 football fields and consists of six technological lines. The equipment used in the plant is complex, with one column reaching a height of eighty-seven meters, similar to a thirty-story building. The plant processes an enormous volume of gas, approximately 875 thousand cubic meters per hour.
"Peregonnii apparat" is a household analogy for the gas separation process. It involves using a chemical distillation apparatus to separate gases. In this case, we dissolved paint in water and heated it to 100 degrees Celsius. The resulting vapor condenses back into liquid form, leaving behind pure paint. Similarly, natural gas requires extreme cold temperatures for separation based on the rectification process which separates components by their boiling points.
The extreme cold temperature of -269 degrees Celsius, close to absolute zero, is crucial for handling and storing gases like helium. These temperatures are similar to those found in outer space. Maintaining such conditions during storage and transportation is necessary.
To handle gases effectively, specialized insulated containers are used. This allows the gas to be transformed into a more familiar form like helium balloons. In liquid form, gases are utilized in the production of various devices such as MRI machines, screens, optical fibers, semiconductor materials and satellite antennas.
Gases can be transformed into solid forms through a process called polymerization. This involves the molecules bonding together to form rigid crystalline structures, releasing heat in the process. This transformation is commonly used in chemical industries to produce various plastic materials.
Nowadays, there is eco-friendly fuel available for ships, trains, and cars. In the past, it was mainly gas - specifically methane and propane fractions. More car owners are saving significant amounts of money by converting their vehicles to cheaper gas fuels like methane. Previously I used to spend around 1.5 thousand rubles per day on gasoline due to city traffic conditions when using methane it cost me about 350 rubles which resulted in a substantial difference.