Going Green and CNG

As the price of oil continues to rise, many people are looking for ways to transform their gas-powered vehicles into more sustainable trucks fueled by other means. Doing this can also save them money. Compressed natural gas engines installed or retrofitted in trucks provides fewer emissions and a cheaper fuel; talk about killing two birds with one stone! As a bonus, there is less of a chance of a fire being started in the engine than with conventional gasoline engines. Compressed natural gas is still gaseous but is, as the name suggests,compressed down so that it is much more compact than regular natural gas. This allows it to be compact enough to be used for a wide variety of industrial, commercial, and consumer applications. Compressed natural gas, or CNG, has a wide range of promising benefits that can help the individual, companies, society, and the environment. Unfortunately, few consumer trucks are currently being retrofitted and the majority of the conversions are taking place

Compressed natural gas, which is also known throughout the oil industry as CNG, is an alternative fossil fuel for petroleum gas, propane fuel and diesel fuel. Even while its combustion does result in the emission of greenhouse gas, CNG is a far more environmentally friendly substitute than other fossil fuels. It is also a lot safer than any other kind of fuel when it comes to oil spills. This is due to the fact that compressed natural gas is lighter than air and is dispersed more quickly after being extricated. Compressed natural gas can be combined with biogas; it can be made from wastewater and can even be produced from landfills. The great thing about these methods is that none of them will amplify the amount of carbon being released into the ozone layer. Earthtech Contracting now offers CNG consulting services to corporations, and to the state and federal government. Their experience in converting trucks to CNG has been recognized by the waste and recycling industry. As a CNG indu

With the advent of many new technologies in response to consumer demands for more environmentally sound products, many auto companies are approaching vehicle design differently. One of these exciting new vehicles is known as CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) automobiles. CNG vehicles have been a concept bandied around by auto developers for a long time, but that have lately seen more updated designs and a renewed interest from the public. CNG cars operate on what is essentially the same overall concept of propulsion that gasoline cars run on. CNG is stored in pressurized tanks in the car itself. These tanks feed into a modified internal combustion engine that operates in a manner very similar to the traditional engines more commonly used in cars. That, however, is where the similarities end. Earthtech Contracting now offers CNG consulting services for construction companies in New Jersey. Their experience in converting vehicles to CNG vehicles has been recognized by the waste and recyclin

The search for alternative fuels continues as gasoline prices begin another upward trend. Commercial entities as well as consumers are looking for other means of powering their vehicles. Everything from hydrogen to solar energy is under consideration. An alternative fuel that seems to have promise is compressed natural gas or CNG. CNG consists of mostly methane pressurized to more than 3,000 pounds per square inch. Compressed natural gas has a lot of advantages over gasoline. The problem with CNG is that no one is willing to make the investment to start building and marketing CNG-powered vehicles to households. Right now, CNG vehicles are more prevalent for commercial, municipal, and government organizations around the world. At the height of the gasoline crisis in the summer of 2008, gasoline was selling at $4.12 a gallon. This tremendous expense spurred renewed interest in CNG. As gasoline fell to below $2.00 a gallon later that year, the interest also fell. Research and developmen

Compressed natural gas is methane or natural gas that was compressed to a high pressure of typically 250 bar. During this process, the gas remains in a gaseous state. To maximize the amount of gas that can be accommodated in a given volume, it will be stored in special cylinders. Using high-pressure compressors epitomizes the gas. The piston compressor is the oldest variant of compressors; however, due to is versatility and efficiency, it still has not lost its appeal. One of the compressor's pistons runs through a cylinder that is connected to the crankshaft via a rod. If only one side of the piston compressor is used, then this is called single acting. Whenever both sides of the piston are used for compression, it is referred to as double-acting epitomization. The reciprocating compressor is the only type of construction that can condense air and gases to high pressures, such as compressed natural gas (CNG). Filling stations are the systems utilized for refueling compressed natural g

Compressed natural gas is natural gas that has been heated and compressed to take up a smaller volume while retaining large amounts of potential energy stored in the molecules. It has been used for a wide variety of functions, from heating buildings to providing power for trains to also powering car engines. It can function similarly to diesel or gasoline in cars. This is what it was used for during the peak of the oil crisis in many areas of the globe. Historically, New Zealand had a sizable percentage of their cars and buses fitted with CNG-fueled engines during the oil crisis. However, once the crisis passed and gas declined, a trend back to gasoline fueled cars commenced. Now that oil prices have increased, and, as a result, gasoline and diesel prices have also increased, there is a worldwide trend towards using compressed natural gas whenever possible. Places such as Canada, which have a large amount of natural gas, tend to use more compressed natural gas to fuel their autos. Pa

A carbon footprint is defined as:

The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). The greatest contributor is the use of gasoline and diesel fuel.

 

Perhaps the issue of most concern to people regarding natural gas powered vehicles is safety. Many people believe natural gas to be far too volatile a fuel to be used in vehicles. However, a review of some of the properties of CNG reveals that this view of volatility and danger is ill-founded. Flammability and Ignition Temperature Natural gas has a limited range of flammability, i.e. the correct mixture of air and fuel to burn. This range for natural gas is approximately 5-15% and the ignition temperature of natural gas is approximately 1100 degrees F. Both gasoline and diesel have lower flammability mixture ratios as well as ignition temperatures than natural gas; thus making natural gas a safer choice. Fuel Density Natural gas is lighter than air, thus generally rises and dissipates into the air if a leak occurs. Contrast this to gasoline which pools upon the ground presenting a clear danger in case of a leak or accident. Vehicle Safety The fuel tank and associated tubing on a

CNG fueled vehicles generate far less harmful emissions than their petroleum-based counterparts, contributing significantly to emissions reduction and to our desire to promote responsible stewardship of the environment. Studies “In a study of CNG and diesel United Parcel Service (UPS) delivery trucks, CNG trucks produced 75% lower carbon monoxide emissions, 49% lower nitrogen oxides emissions, and 95% lower particulate matter emissions than diesel trucks of similar age…” “Transit buses equipped with model year 2004 CNG engines produced 49% lower nitrogen oxides emissions and 84% lower particulate matter emissions versus transit buses equipped with model year 2004 diesel engines.” Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy: Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicle Data Center Acceptance “We have been working over 10 years at the natural gas vehicle business…a CNG-fueled heavy duty refuse truck is the equivalent of taking 325 vehicles off the road. Our company fuels about 500 heavy-duty ref

The push for development of alternative fuels and corresponding vehicles has advanced significantly over the last few years. Certainly, much focus has been on electric and hydrogen powered vehicles. However, battery storage deficiencies and other shortcomings involved in these technologies prevent them from becoming viable alternatives in the near future. Conversely, compressed natural gas technology is here and ready for use. “…The reality is that hydrogen-powered vehicles are probably 15 to 20 years away from being able to be mass-produced for the general public. We can’t afford to wait 15 or 20 years to address our nation’s air quality and energy security. By developing a CNG fueling network and driving clean-burning CNG-powered vehicles today, we are addressing each of these important issues right now.” Michael Scarpino, Clean Cities Regional Manager/U.S. Department of Energy Source-Clean Energy-Straight Talk on CNG Transportation is where 55 percent of all the oil we c