As early as 940 BC, the ancient working people in China used some empty bamboo tubes to get natural gas by inserting them into the seaside. At that time, people boiled seawater with natural gas and then collected salt. Some experts say that people in China at that time could drill wells as deep as 2,000 feet (600 meters). Japanese drilling records appeared around 600 BC.
Some ancient people noticed the natural gas emitted underground and found that they could burn. People specially built temples in these mysterious "eternal flames" for people who believe in and worship these flames to worship together. Later reports noticed the "pillar of fire" and a kind of foam magic water that could "burn like oil". Coincidentally, George Washington described a "fountain that can burn". However, this phenomenon did not occur widely, and it was not until recently that natural gas was really used.
The birth of natural gas industry
The emergence of natural gas industry in the United States and Europe does not stem from natural gas itself, but from "man-made" natural gas, which is a gas produced by heating coal. This kind of "gas" (also known as "city gas") appeared in/kloc-0 in the early 9th century, used for lighting, and changed people's lifestyle. From now on, factories can have more working hours, and family members can read newspapers and books at home after dark without using expensive and dangerous candles for lighting.
William Murdon, a British inventor, was one of the first people to realize that natural gas is a more convenient energy source than coal, because it can be transported by pipeline and is easier to control. 1792, his house was lit with gas. At that time, his neighbors thought there was an explosion. Murdoch continued his work of developing, storing and purifying gases, and his company (Bolton &; Watt Company (famous for its steam engines) began to realize gas lighting in factories in Britain and France. 1802, in order to celebrate the conclusion of the peace treaty between Britain and France, Birmingham was all illuminated by gas lamps, which triggered a storm of natural gas industry development.
Meanwhile, in France, Phillippe Lebon conducted an experiment to generate gas by heating saws, wood and charcoal. 1799, he obtained a patent for extracting distilled gas from wood. The natural gas lamp he invented is the earliest one of this kind of lamp, which is called "hot lamp". He publicly demonstrated his invention in Paris, France in 1802. However, the French government rejected Lebon's proposal to use gas lamps for lighting on a large scale. However, in other countries in continental Europe and Britain, people have great interest in gas lighting.
Frederick vinson, a German entrepreneur, put forward an engineering plan to produce more natural gas and transport it through the central system. He founded an investment enterprise to ensure the safety of investment and celebrated the Queen's birthday with this gaslight. 1807, Vinson demonstrated street lighting for the first time in London, England, which is also one of the oldest gaslight devices in the world. After a dispute with William Murdoch, Wensen established the world's first natural gas distribution company on 18 12.
The early natural gas distribution system used wooden pipes, which were later replaced by metal pipes (made in a way similar to the barrel of a naval machine gun). Some towns have installed central gas stations and laid pipelines. By 18 19, nearly 300 miles (482.7 kilometers) of natural gas pipelines have been laid in London to provide natural gas for more than 50,000 cookers.
In the Atlantic region, American enterprises keep up with the development of European enterprises. 1802, Charles Peale experimented with natural gas lighting in the history museum of an independent building in Philadelphia. His son, Rembrand Peale, was employed by Baltimore Natural Gas Assembly Lighting System Company in 18 16, which was the first natural gas utility company in the United States. Similar to the situation in Britain, the natural gas distribution system also uses wooden pipes. Many natural gas companies were quickly established in several big cities in the eastern United States. The first natural gas company in the southern United States was established in New Orleans, and the first natural gas company in Canada was established in Montreal.
By the end of19th century, nearly a thousand companies in the United States sold gas, which was mainly used for lighting, and many big cities in the world had used gas. Gas lamps are not only used in factories and streets, but also in families, teaching buildings and public places, so people can enjoy nightlife to the fullest.
Encounter competition a
Although an instrument for measuring natural gas was invented as early as 18 15, the natural gas consumed by most natural gas users was not measured at first. At that time, users charged according to the types of lamps used and the time of use. The gas meter for measuring gas consumption was invented by 1862 in London, England, and the basic principle of this early meter has been used to this day. /kloc-in the 1990s, people invented coin-operated meters, which can adapt to the metering of different grades of gas lamps and a large number of gas users.
1855, one of the most important inventions of our time was born. This is bunsen burner, which can produce burning blue flames. This kind of furnace can mix air and gas in advance before burning, and the gas burns more fully in the furnace, releasing more heat. This principle has taken a big step towards increasing the use of natural gas. /kloc-in the 0/9th century, more complex gas manufacturing technology appeared, which can make the lighting performance of gas more excellent.
However, by the end of19th century, this new gas industry was almost killed by electric lighting, including Thomas Edison's electric light bulb. Karl Orr (Baron von Welsbach) invented the incandescent natural gas lampshade in time in 1885, which saved the demise of the natural gas industry. This conical gas cover (Figure 1.2) is installed on the flame of gas lamp, which can emit brighter white light, while the light emitted by early electric light bulbs is relatively dim. Even in 1920,14 of the gas produced by people is still used for lighting. This lampshade is still used by people and can also be used to decorate gas lamps.
Figure 1.2 Incandescent lamp gas lampshade
Another great progress at that time was the birth of the push-up inertia flow coke oven (Figure 1.3), which was born because of the growing iron-making and steel-making industries and the increasing demand for blast furnace coke. Coke is a solid, which is a by-product in the coking process when making gas. It can also be used for indoor heating. Because of the use of coke, many public facilities still retain the name "coke". By 1920, the gas produced by coking furnace has reached 18.7% of all artificial gas.
The natural gas industry continues to diversify, and the use of natural gas has gone far beyond lighting. In the United States, the earliest natural gas meter appeared around 1840, and by 1897, a modern natural gas appliance was born-the solar dial cooker made by Goodwin Company (Figure 1.4) appeared. Within four years, the first store using natural gas equipment completely opened in Rhode Island, USA on 1887. The emergence of these natural gas facilities companies has made great progress and great success in natural gas cookers. By 1900, cooking with natural gas has become the main use of this industry.
Figure 1.3 Push-up inertial coking furnace
Figure 1.4 Goodwin Cookware
These advances have also greatly promoted the utilization of natural gas hot water. 19 In the early 1960s, gas stoves were used to heat water storage tanks. Circulating water heater, a cheap and effective facility, first appeared in 1883. In the following years, water heaters with thermal control and automatic hot water devices appeared.
Transition from artificial gas to natural gas
In the early19th century, wells used for drilling water and salt water occasionally produced natural gas. In most cases, this gas is considered harmful because it will interfere with the normal water output of these wells. Usually, people only try to use natural gas on a small scale. 182 1 year, in Fredonia, new york, an ordnance worker named William Hart drilled the first natural gas well in American history. After completion, he covered the wellhead with a big barrel, and the natural gas produced from this shallow well (27 feet, 8.2 meters) was led to his home near the wellhead with several wooden pipes. A few years later, natural gas was used for street lighting in the city to pay tribute to General lafayette's visit.
From 1830 to 1840, several natural gas wells were drilled in Pennsylvania, new york and West Virginia, including a deep well of 1000 feet (300 meters) near the "burning spring" near George Washington. The natural gas in this well has enough pressure to shoot a water column 150 feet (50 meters) high into the air. During this period, the use of natural gas was limited to users around gas wells, mainly because the early gas pipelines could not be transported over long distances.
1865 when the first natural gas company was established in Fredonia, people had already discovered oil in Titusville, Pennsylvania, which was the first successful oil drilling in the world. In the subsequent oil drilling, the drillers tried to avoid natural gas. Without pipelines and other equipment, this drilling technology is difficult to control and use when drilling, and the oil produced is transported away from the oil well by carriage. The natural gas found in the process of drilling and producing oil is uncontrollable, but technicians can purge these wells for weeks or months in order to finally produce oil. The natural gas produced with these oils is usually ignited and burned.
In Pennsylvania, natural gas was first used in the steel industry, which also stimulated the application of natural gas, especially in Pittsburgh. Here, several companies are organized to transport natural gas short distances to various steel mills in the state. In 1885, andrew carnegie noted that natural gas used in steel manufacturing can replace 10000 tons of coal every day. However, this "prosperity" is short-lived, because the proven natural gas is quickly exhausted. By 1900, Pittsburgh's steel industry turned back to using coal.
In the next 25 years, the supply of natural gas still failed to recover to the previous great development momentum. Some early developed natural gas fields were quickly abandoned, and cracks appeared in some poorly built pipelines. By 1920, this downward trend was contained, but in some oil fields, a large amount of natural gas was still burned until the early 1950s.
Extension of natural gas pipeline
With the progress of pipeline technology and the increase of natural gas discovery, the natural gas industry has gradually begun to develop again. 1870 discovered high-yield natural gas flow while drilling in west bloomfield, new york. Although natural gas was burned at first, it was finally transported to Rochester through the first "long-distance" pipeline (Figure 1.5). Made of pine, this pipe is only 25 miles (40 kilometers) long and less than 1 foot (30 cm) in diameter.
The high-pressure transportation of natural gas started at 189 1 and was completed by Indiana Oil and Gas Company. It consists of two parallel natural gas pipelines, which are 120 miles (198 kilometers) long and run from Indiana gas field to Chicago. The natural gas transmission pressure of these two pipelines reaches 525psi(3620kPa). By 1907, a large amount of natural gas mined in this gas field and all burnt natural gas have been transported by pipeline.
Figure 1.5 Wooden pipes for transporting natural gas to Rochester in the early days.
When large quantities of natural gas were discovered in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, people used pipeline transportation to transport natural gas to nearby markets. Due to economic and technical reasons, long-distance transportation of natural gas has not been put on the agenda. Moreover, the transportation of natural gas to the eastern and western parts of the United States is still resisted by railways and others, who will lose their markets due to fuel competition.
However, when the seamless steel pipe came out in the 1920s, the transportation of natural gas began to flourish. The pipeline made of seamless steel pipe can transport natural gas under higher pressure, so the transportation capacity of natural gas can be greatly increased. 19 1 1 year, the introduction of oxyacetylene welding technology has realized the long-distance welding of steel pipes and developed the metering technology of large-volume natural gas. A.O. Smith invented the technology of high-strength electric welding pipeline in 1927.
The long-distance transportation of natural gas reduces the price of natural gas and makes it more competitive than other fuels, which also greatly increases the use of natural gas and can be used for space heating.
Of course, the transportation of natural gas confirmed the necessity of laying more pipelines, including laying parallel double pipelines, in order to provide more natural gas for cities that have already used natural gas. In order to avoid the exhaustion of natural gas fields produced in the early stage and further meet the demand of users for natural gas, some joint companies came into being and realized one-stop service from natural gas exploitation, transportation and distribution to users. Before 1925, the longest gas pipeline was 300mile (500km). By 193 1, many long-distance transportation systems have been established.
Due to the economic recession of 1929 and the restrictions on the use of steel in World War II, the construction of natural gas pipelines was temporarily stopped in the 1930s and 1940s. During this period, the natural gas industry in the United States was almost completely limited to the sale of artificial gas, except for those areas where large natural gas fields were easy to find.
During that economic recession, almost no equipment related to the natural gas industry was produced. Therefore, the huge demand for fuel in World War II made most companies producing natural gas extremely scarce. Those factories that were once called outdated have also been re-launched. However, shortly after the end of World War II, the economy recovered rapidly and the laying of long-distance gas pipelines flourished. By 1950, the length of natural gas pipeline will exceed that of oil pipeline.
refer to
"Gas range and its growth mode" control tower 2, 6-7 (1960) in the first quarter. Harper, R.B., "Overview of the History and Development of Natural Gas Industry", unpublished notes of the author, 1942. IGT science and technology information center. Chronology of National Natural Gas Industry, American Journal of Natural Gas 172, 29-36 (1950), May. "How Humans Make Substitutes for the Sun", Baltimore Gas and Power News 5,272-35 (1916), June. Hunter, C, "Gas Lighting", Volume III, 232,300, Chemical Technology, edited by groves, C.E. and Thorpe, W. Hunt, C, Introduction to the History of Gas Lighting. London: W. King, 1907. Non-technical Guide to Petroleum Geology, Exploration Drilling and Production. Tulsa, Oklahoma: PennWell Publishing Company, 1995. Norman, the romantic history of the natural gas industry. Chicago: A.C. McLurg Company, 1922. Take measures to eliminate gas waste in the third era. Journal of gas 33. 115-16 (1934) August 27th. The Story of Gas (12- Part Series). A.G.A monthly, July/August 1975 ff. Stotz, L. and Jamison, A. Industrial History. New york: Stettinger Bros, 1938. Suttle, R.R., "Chronology of Southern Natural Gas Industry 1802- 1957", American Journal of Natural Gas 178, 29-33 (1955), May. Travers, Bridget, Ed. The world of scientific discovery. Detroit: Gail Research Company, 1994.