Natural Gas Combustion

Composition of Natural Gas, percent by volume:

Methane (CH₄): 98.90%
Ethane (C₂H₆): 00.16%
Propane (C₃H₈): 0.02%
Nitrogen (N₂): 0.87%
Carbon dioxide (CO₂): 00.02%
Oxygen (O₂): 00.02%

Combustion Reaction Details:

Combining Methane, Ethane, Propane, and Oxygen produces: Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide, and Water (Oxygen Dihydrate).
CH₄ + C₂H₆ + C₃H₈ + O₂ -> CO + CO₂ + H₂O

This is the primary reaction. It is an exothermic combustion reaction (it produces heat), Carbon Monoxide is only formed in trace quantities (less than 1 ppm). The Water vapour, which sounds fairly harmless, actually often carries particles of soot from burnt dust, or foreign materials in the Natural Gas into the air. As such it can be a problem, it can be dealt with through the usage of an ionizer, which would attract all the droplets to its surface, getting them out of the air, but would also tend to increase the amount of Carbon Monoxide produced.

Combining Nitrogen and Oxygen produces Nitrogen Dioxide, Nitrogen Trioxide and related compounds.
N₂ + O₂ -> NO₂ + NO₃ etc.

This is a secondary reaction, it is an endothermic combination reaction (it requires an outside energy source to take place, it is not self sustaining). The products are all usually referred to as Nitrogen Oxide (NO_X). Nitrogen Dioxide is particularly dangerous since when combined with water it produces Nitric Acid (H₂NO₃) Since human lungs contain a considerable amount of moisture, inhaling Nitrogen Oxide is considered to be extremely dangerous..
This reaction is actually independent of the Nitrogen in the natural gas itself, since there is an ample supply of Nitrogen in ordinary air. The reaction will take place wherever conditions permit (it requires an appropriate energy source to sustain the reaction, heat or ultra-violet light are both effective).

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