HISTORY
       Humans knew about the uses and properties of methane far before they knew what methane actually was.  In ancient Greece for example, lightning struck the ground, igniting the methane beneath the earth. The Greeks gazed at the flame being fueled from the ground and thought it was supernatural.  They built the temple at Delphi which housed the Oracle.  This is the most sacred spot in Ancient Greece.

(Oracle at Delphi) (taken from google images)

        The Ancient Chinese also witnessed the same phenomenon, but used methane in everyday life.  They constructed drills and pipelines fashioned out of bamboo to harness methane.  They ignited methane and used the flame to boil sea water, in order to separate the salt from the water. 

The Native Americans also used methane as a heat source.  When European settlers came to America they saw native Americans lighting fires over seeping gasses near lake Erie.  The American Natural gas Industry started around Lake Erie when Colonel Edwin Drake dug the first well, and struck natural gas.   

       The British were the first to commercialize natural gas in 1785.  Methane makes up 70-90% of natural gas.  The British used methane to light street lamps.  Methane was primarily used in the area that it was produced because it is very hard to transport over large distances. 

(methane street lamp) (taken from google images)

       The first major breakthrough in the transportation of methane took place in 1891, when a 120 mile pipe was built from Indiana to Chicago.  The pipeline was a cheap means for Chicagoans to gain access to natural gas.  After World War 1, United States started a massive infrastructure project in order to transfer natural gas to all major cities, however it wasn’t until after World War 2 that the equipment and materials were advanced enough to build large, reliable pipes.         

        When the transportation of natural gas became cheap and reliable, technological advances were invented in order to utilize the potential of methane and natural gas.  Such advances were the ability to heat homes with natural gas and to create electricity. 

       Methane has also been used with Bunsen Burner's.  Robert Bunsen invented the Bunsen Burner in 1885, which mixes methane and other natural gasses with the right amount of air in order to combust. The Bunsen Burner offered a clean burning, energy efficient, safe way of utilizing the combustive capabilities of methane. 

(Bunsen  Burner (taken from google images)

 Pictures and Information from: www.naturalgas.org

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