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Article: Natural Gas
- Article from:
- World of Earth Science
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Natural gas
Natural gas is a mixture of
hydrocarbons
(molecules that contain only
carbon
and hydrogen) and gases (most notably methane, ethane, propane, and butane) that exist naturally in rocks beneath the surface of the earth. It is widely used as a heating source, and in some cases, specific portions of the natural gas are used as starting materials in industrial processes. Natural gas is the product of the decaying of living matter over millions of years (as is also true for
petroleum
). Specific conditions, including low
oxygen
levels, are necessary for this to occur. The hydrocarbon gases are trapped in geological formations known as anticlines. Each of the major ...