Natural-gas processing at ambient conditions (i.e., pentane and heavier) are called "natural-gas condensate" (sometimes also called "natural gasoline" or simply "condensate"). Natural gas is called "sweet gas" when relatively free of hydrogen sulfide; gas that does contain hydrogen sulfide is called "sour gas". Natural gas, or any other gas mixture, containing significant quantities of hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide or similar acidic gases, is called "acid gas." Raw natural gas can also come from methane deposits in the pores of coal seams, and especially in a more concentrated state of adsorption onto the surface of the coal itself. Such gas is referred to
Natural gas and shallow sediments. Deeper in the earth, at greater temperature and pressure, thermogenic gas is created from buried organic material. In petroleum production gas is often burnt as flare gas. The World Bank estimates that over 150 cubic kilometers of natural gas are flared or vented annually. Before natural gas can be used as a fuel, most, but not all, must be processed to remove impurities, including water, to meet the specifications of marketable natural gas. The by-products of this processing include: ethane, propane, butanes, pentanes, and higher molecular weight hydrocarbons, hydrogen sulfide (which may be converted into pure sulfur),