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The largest component of natural gas is:
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Answer: Option B — Methane
Detailed Solution
Natural gas is a fossil fuel found deep underground, often along with petroleum, in porous rocks. It was formed over millions of years from the remains of tiny marine plants and animals buried under layers of sediment and subjected to heat and pressure.
Methane (CH4), the simplest hydrocarbon, makes up the largest part of natural gas, usually about 70-90% or more. The rest consists of other hydrocarbons, such as ethane, propane and butane, along with small amounts of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and hydrogen sulphide. Natural gas itself has no smell; a strong-smelling chemical, such as ethyl mercaptan, is added for safety so that leaks can be detected.
Natural gas is used in several forms:
CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) is natural gas compressed to high pressure. It is used as a cleaner fuel for buses, auto-rickshaws and cars. Its main component is methane.
PNG (Piped Natural Gas) is supplied to homes through pipelines for cooking.
LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) is natural gas cooled to about –162°C to turn it into a liquid, so it can be transported in ships.
LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas), used in cooking gas cylinders, is different. It is mainly a mixture of propane and butane, obtained from petroleum refining.
Methane is also produced by the decay of organic matter without oxygen, for example in marshes ("marsh gas"), in rice fields, in the digestive systems of cattle and in biogas plants. Biogas contains about 50-75% methane. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas.
In India, natural gas is produced in fields such as the Krishna-Godavari basin, Mumbai High and in Assam.
Why not the other options?
Ethane, propane and butane are present in smaller amounts. Propane and butane are the main components of LPG.
Quick tip
Remember: Natural gas and CNG = mainly methane; LPG = propane and butane; biogas = mainly methane and carbon dioxide.
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Carbon & Organic Chemistry — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Carbon & Organic Chemistry, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers carbon and its compounds: the allotropes of carbon (diamond, graphite and fullerenes), hydrocarbons, functional groups, the nomenclature of simple organic compounds, alcohols and acids, soaps and detergents, polymers and plastics. Questions commonly ask which allotrope of carbon conducts electricity (graphite), which is the hardest natural substance (diamond), what the main component of natural gas is (methane), and how soaps differ from detergents. Know the monomers of common polymers, such as ethylene for polythene, and which plastics are thermoplastics and which are thermosetting. Practise the carbon and organic chemistry questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.