Summer time means cook-outs, days by the pool and family vacations. While you may have the dream vacation already planned for this summer, you can still take a moment to think about how those plans may not have been possible without natural gas.
Getting ready to book that dream hotel by the beach? That would not have been possible without that computer or smart phone made from natural gas products. Methanol, a product of natural gas, creates chemicals such as chloromethane, which in turn is used to create electronics like laptops and cellphones.
What about a relaxing get-away to a tropical paradise? Good luck getting to the beach without a car or airplane. Butane is formed from fractionation of natural gas and is an element used in jet fuel. The same element and other organic compounds are used to make gasoline. If a mountain camping trip is more your speed, remember that lots of camping equipment – from tents to sleeping bags – are made possible by of natural gas. Nylon fibers that make up apparel and furnishings are created from ammonia, an inorganic compound that is derived from natural gas.
Natural gas also saves you from becoming a “vacation lobster.” Most aerosol cans, including the spray cans of sunscreen that make for easy application, have butane or isobutane. And synthetic textiles that can be found in beach apparel like those big floppy hats and fashionable cover-ups are made from methanol, which is produced in a catalytic reaction called synthesis gas.
Between the barbeques and the beach, summer just wouldn’t be summer without natural gas.
