Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a readily available alternative to gasoline that’s made by compressing natural gas to less than 1% of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure. Consisting mostly of methane, CNG is odorless, colorless and tasteless. It's drawn from domestically drilled natural gas wells or in gas recovered in conjunction with crude oil production.
CNG powers more than eight million vehicles on the road today. Unfortunately, only 150,000 of these are in the U.S. The average growth rate in the U.S. shows a 3.7% per annum since 2000, as contrasted with a booming global growth rate of 30.6% per annum. Expanding the numbers of CNG fueling stations would allow for the increase of CNG vehicles on U.S. roads. There are 12,000 fueling statinos around the world, yet the U.S. claims only about 1,100.
However, as gasoline prices continue to rise, American interest in CNG is also rising. And with good reason – CNG costs about 40% less than gasoline, it emits up to 90% less emissions than gasoline and there’s an abundant supply right here in AmericSo CNG is clean, affordable, abundant and American.
CNG stands for compressed natural gas. CNG is utility, pipeline-quality natural gas that has been compressed to 3,000 - 3,600 psi. Compression allows more natural gas to fit into a smaller space, such as a vehicle’s fuel tank. It also allows a sufficient amount of natural gas to be injected into an internal combustion engine. Without compression, a natural gas vehicle would not have enough horsepower to move.
In its natural state, natural gas is normally a gaseous, lighter-than-air substance — not a liquid. Natural gas can be stored by being compressed to 3,600 psi (CNG) or liquefied at -260° F (LNG).
Absolutely! CNG is stored onboard vehicles in tanks that meet stringent safety requirements.
The fuel storage cylinders used in CNG vehicles are much stronger than gasoline fuel tanks. The design of natural gas cylinders is subjected to a number of federally required "severe abuse" tests, such as heat and pressure extremes, gunfire, collisions and fires.
Natural gas fuel systems are sealed to prevent spills or evaporative losses. Even if a leak were to occur in a fuel system, the natural gas would simply dissipate up into the atmosphere. In this way, differs from gasoline, which in the event of a leak or accident, pools on the ground, creating a fire hazard.
Natural gas has a high ignition temperature, about 1,200° Fahrenheit, compared with about 600° Fahrenheit for gasoline. It also has a narrow range of flammability; in concentrations in air below about 5% and above about 15%, natural gas will not burn. The high ignition temperature and limited flammability range make accidental ignition or combustion of natural gas unlikely.
Natural gas is not toxic or corrosive and will not contaminate ground water.
Source: NGV America
Before you convert your vehicle to run on natural gas, or purchase a CNG vehicle, be sure to investigate your fueling options. While there are more than 1,000 CNG fueling locations in the U.S., about half are not open to the public. Instead, they are restricted to use only by fleet operators. These are referred to as private access stations. Limited public access stations allow public refueling only after a credit account has been established. Full public access stations are available convenient credit card and/or proprietary billing card access.
Many of these existing CNG stations were originally installed by natural gas utilities and thus, are in clusters associated with their organization's service territories. Some natural gas utilities left the market, either closing their stations or selling them to a small group of independent retail CNG fuel companies that have built upon these networks and added new CNG stations. The most comprehensive lists of CNG stations can be found at:
California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition: www.cngvc.org
Clean Car Maps (California, Nevada, Arizona): www.cleancarmaps.com
U.S. Department of Energy: www.energy.gov
It is always a good idea to contact the natural gas refueling station prior to your trip to make sure that the information on the station lists noted above is accurate and current. This is especially true if a person plans to make a trip outside of their local area network, with only a very limited CNG refueling infrastructure in place.
Of course, if your home has access to natural gas lines, it is possible to refuel overnight at home with the properly installed equipment.
Source: NGV America
If you do have access to natural gas lines, a homeowner may elect to purchase and install a fueling device at their residence. The cost of fuel will then appear on the homeowner's regular, monthly natural gas bill.
Currently, the only home CNG fueling devices available are from FuelMaker Corporation.
Overnight Refueling
The FuelMaker device called the Phill® was introduced in limited areas of the country several years ago, and has since been gradually offered in more markets as demand and service/supply/installer networks have been established. The Phill is a small home compression/dispensing unit that dispenses about 0.42 gasoline-gallon-equivalent (GGE) per hour. It is also a time-fill device, but it has been engineered to be smaller (about the size of a pay telephone box) and installed inside your garage with proper safety-relief venting to the outside. The Phill is priced at approximately $4,500 plus installation, but this device is available only in very limited areas at this time.
Home CNG refueling devices qualify for a federal tax incentive of $1,000 and may qualify for additional state tax incentives or grant subsidies. More information about the available federal tax incentive is available here. For information about potential state tax incentives and/or grant subsidies for your home refueling installation, contact the appropriate state authority.
CNG Fast-fill Capability
Another CNG refueling option is the FuelMaker “Q” series vehicle refueling appliance (VRA), the least expensive of which is referred to as the “small Q.” It compresses and dispenses about 0.9 GGE per hour. This is a time-fill fueling device that has no storage other than the storage onboard your vehicle. Gas from the same supply lines that feed your house’s appliances, such as the furnace, water heater, stove, etc., is compressed and stored onboard your vehicle by a device about the size of an air-conditioning unit. The unit is installed outdoors, usually adjacent to the garage. Fueling is accomplished overnight or whenever your vehicle is idle and available to attach to the VRA’s supply hose. It is possible to purchase storage and fast-fill dispensing capability from FuelMaker, but this option is not designed for, nor is it cost-effective for most homeowners. A small Q with time-fill capability costs about $9,875 plus installation. Visit FuelMaker’s website to locate an FMQ dealer by state. Even in states like California where the Phill installation/service network is in place, NGVAmerica suggests that you contact your local gas company first to make sure that adequate gas supplies and services are available. Visit the Phill portion of FuelMaker’s website to find out if this device is available in your are
Source: NGVAmerica
For certified conversion companies, please refer to NGVAmerica.
Incentives vary state by state for converting a vehicle to run on CNG. There are also incentives in place for the purchase of a home refueling unit.
For those wanting to offer retail CNG, visit the NGVAmerica Business Directory.
Other NGV America's resources include:
http://www.ngvamerica.org/tech_data/faq.html
http://www.ngvamerica.org/about_ngv/index.html
For more information on CNG, visit www.cngnow.com.
