Chapter 251: Chapter 247 Natural Gas
"The poisonous gas in the valley, if my judgment is correct, should be hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic, flammable gas. When the concentration is high, it smells like rotten eggs; when low, it should smell like sulfur." Returning to the camp, Perfikot gathered everyone and explained her findings: "This sulfide is deadly and dangerous. When mixed with air, it forms an explosive mixture that can blow up the entire valley when ignited.
Moreover, exposed to the valley’s concentration, it will cause pulmonary edema in a few minutes, invade the nervous system, causing breathing difficulties leading to death.
Therefore, without my permission, no one is allowed within five kilometers of the valley, nor is open flame allowed. Anyone who violates this will be cemented into a stone warning marker for a hundred years! Do you all understand?"
Perfikot emphasized solemnly, seeing her seriousness, everyone hurriedly assured that they understood.
The methods of the Northern Territory Count they knew well, although usually appearing as a serene and elegant noble lady, she also shows a very kind heart. But the survey team and soldiers know her well from the North Territory, having witnessed the massacre she sparked in New Shaker City, aware that this seemingly sweet and lovely Count is essentially very iron-willed.
So no one dared to treat her words lightly; it was true they could end up cemented into stone.
After warning everyone, Perfikot ordered materials to be collected to prepare a hot air balloon and survey the entire valley from the air.
Though approaching the valley filled with toxic gas from the ground is dangerous, these gases don’t spread very broadly, so aerial surveying poses little risk.
Once Perfikot clarified this point, the survey team quickly got to action.
While everyone was collecting materials per her instructions, Perfikot, along with others, started digging pits around the camp.
The group didn’t quite understand what she was doing until they had dug several pits, and gas escaped lighting yellow flames when ignited, at which point Perfikot was satisfied and had the flames extinguished.
Evidently, the valley contains more than just sulfides, or rather the hydrogen sulfide in the valley is only a secondary presence; it’s primarily what she first judged - natural gas.
Natural gas mainly consists of alkanes, predominantly methane, along with small amounts of ethane, propane, and butane; it also normally contains hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapor, and trace amounts of carbon monoxide and rare gases like helium and argon.
For example, here in the valley, the gas is primarily methane mixed with a significant amount of hydrogen sulfide, resulting in the heavy rotten egg smell.
But on excavating surrounding land, the leaked gas is colorless and odorless, burns with yellow flames when ignited, indicating a fairly rich natural gas deposit underground with little difficulty in extraction.
Since it has already leaked to the surface, the depth of the gas field suggests it isn’t particularly deep.
Regarding her previous judgment of this being an associated petroleum gas field, Perfikot used the Eye of All-Seeing to analyze the underground gas leak composition, confirming her suspicion through discovering evaporated petroleum components.
In fact, Perfikot’s goals were already achieved, only needing oil wells established here to extract underground petroleum, but Perfikot doesn’t intend to return directly.
This valley evidently has more worth investigating; letting the survey team continue isn’t an issue, but Perfikot remains uneasy leaving such dangerous work to a group lacking relevant understanding.
After all, compared to her, these people don’t fully recognize the toxic, flammable, explosive gases in the valley or understand the importance of the buried natural gas and petroleum; she fears they could accidentally ignite the whole valley.
Igniting the valley is a minor issue, but if a spark were to ignite all the natural gas and even trigger the underground gas and oil field...
This could become a horror story, with the inferno burning underground for a thousand years unextinguished, even during an apocalyptic winter, it’s difficult to curb such deep-seated flames.
By then, the Northern Territory might have a warm area under the icy apocalypse.
But fear no one would favor living here, for the toxic gases from the underground oil and gas field fire are unsuitable for human habitation.
Let alone the flames extending upwards through geological fractures, making the entire region highly perilous.
However, these are currently Perfikot’s baseless fears; whether it will truly become such depends on her future handling of this region and the survey conducted after the hot air balloon ascent.
At least, for now, it hasn’t devolved into Perfikot’s worried worst-case scenario.
Her group is diligently adhering to her commands, even in the camp at night, carefully practicing fire safety, and none have dared disobey Perfikot’s order to approach Death Valley.
They all value life; hearing ’Death Valley’ suggests ill omens, and having Perfikot’s prohibition intensifies their reluctance to near the valley.
If not for the exploration mission and Perfikot not announcing departure, someone might suggest retreating immediately.
As for igniting the underground oil gas field, although highly dangerous, honestly it’s not easy to ignite such a field, particularly subterranean.
Unless the whole valley were somehow ignited, causing a chain reaction, it’s unlikely otherwise.
Thus, Perfikot isn’t overly concerned about this.
Beyond that, Perfikot never concerns herself with camp’s trivial matters; though not having many soldiers, her workforce is sufficient, and she wouldn’t need to manage everything personally.
So, once her sent supplies returned, Perfikot focused on manufacturing the hot air balloon through alchemy, aiming to complete it today and take flight tomorrow for comprehensive aerial surveying of Death Valley.