It is already used for heating buildings and for all sorts of industrial heating.

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It is a flexible fuel, capable of heating homes, fuelling industrial boilers and providing feedstock for the petrochemicals industry, where it is turned into plastics, fertiliser and other useful stuff.

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Most experts warn against ozone, which results from the sun heating hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides in vehicle and industrial emissions.

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If the inventory slides too close to 500 billion feet, industrial users would be ordered to curtail use in order to safeguard supplies for home heating.

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