Know about Natural Gas

Natural gas is generally considered a nonrenewable fossil fuel because most scientists think that natural gas was formed from the remains of tiny sea animals and plants that died 300 to 400 million years past.  When these tiny sea animals and plants died, they sank into the bottom of the oceans where they were buried by layers of sediment and turned into rock. Over the years, the layers of sedimentary rock became thousands of feet thick, subjecting the energy-rich plant and animal remains to enormous pressure. Most scientists believe that the pressure and the heat of the Earth changed this mixture into petroleum and gas. Solid natural gas is a mixture of different gases. The main ingredient is methane, a natural compound that is formed whenever plant and animal matter decays. By itself, methane is odorless, colorless, and tasteless. A chemical odorant called mercaptan is added with natural gas for a safety measure and gas can be detected.