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RECORD NUMBER: 28 OF 59

Main Title Evaluation of the Acceptability of Natural Gas as a Mitigating Fuel for Utility Combustion Sources.
Author Burklin, C. E. ; Nelson, T. P. ; Tilkicioglu., B. ;
CORP Author Radian Corp., Austin, TX. ;Pipeline Systems, Inc., Walnut Creek, CA.;Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. Air and Energy Engineering Research Lab.
Publisher Jun 91
Year Published 1991
Report Number PAPER-91-122.2; EPA-68-D0-0125; EPA/600/D-91/175;
Stock Number PB91-226449
Additional Subjects Natural gas ; Greenhouse effect ; Methane ; Carbon dioxide ; Air pollution ; Global warming ; Stationary sources ; Combustion products ; Electric utilities ;
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NTIS  PB91-226449 Some EPA libraries have a fiche copy filed under the call number shown. 07/26/2022
Collation 13p
Abstract
The paper gives preliminary findings of a joint EPA/Gas Research Institute study of methane (CH4) loss from the U.S. natural gas industry. The study, not scheduled for completion until 1992, is part of an effort to resolve the issue of CH4 emissions from natural gas production and distribution. Early estimates of the loss of CH4 from natural gas production were based on gas company records of 'unaccounted for (UAF) gas,' and ranged from 2 to 4% of the natural gas produced. However, UAF gas was a bookkeeping adjustment and did not represent an estimate of CH4 lost to the atmosphere. CH4 has been implicated as a significant greenhouse gas, perhaps second only to carbon dioxide (CO2). While CH4 concentrations in the atmosphere are lower than those of CO2, its warming potential is thought to be from 10 to 140 times greater than that of CO2 on a mass basis. CH4 is also considered to be a product of the production and transportation of natural gas to the consumer. If the losses of CH4 during natural gas production were large enough, they could greatly reduce or even negate the greenhouse benefits from switching to natural gas combustion.