Natural gas presents a more environment friendly choice as a transport fuel, when compared to gasoline and diesel. In fact, in many countries in the world, there are buses and two wheelers than run on natural gas (in the form called compressed natural gas or CNG).

“Gas users pay less. In Delhi, the per km of running a car with gas is Rs 1.31 as against 2.54 for diesel and 3.2 for petrol. If all three fuels were sold at market prices (the gap will be even higher, in favour of gas). This is because gas is cheaper than oil. One barrel of crude produces the same energy as 6 mmbtu of gas. Therefore, at crude price of $80 per barrel, gas should be priced at approximately $13 per mmbtu. Happily, most of the gas is being sold in India at $4.2 per mmbtu, and the imported gas is available at about $5 per mmbtu. So, there is a clear disconnect between the price of crude oil and gas.”

All these data support natural gas as the fuel of choice. But in reality, only a small portion of India's transport ( as well as other fuel applications) use natural gas. I read recently that while the world average for the contribution of natural gas to a nation's energy use is 24%, for India this figure is just a measly 9%. I reckon India can make use of this relatively cleaner fuel much better than she is doing right now.

What do you think?

http://eai.in/blog/2010/06/natural-...india.html

I agree, very strange that nat gas isn't more popular for vehicles. The US hasn't promoted it either.

It is a clean burning fuel with lots of good properties, 105 octane rating among them, but the limiting factors are refuel time and energy storage density, and additionally, the act of refueling consumes electrical energy because the fuel must be compressed, whereas a liquid fuel does not require compression at the refuel point.

So, if you could live with a thirty minute or so refuel time and half the range per fill up, CNG may be for you.  If you are a road warrior like me, no deal. You could probably build a higher performance engine using CNG for several different reasons, but if you really optimized it for CNG you'd lose the ability to operate on gasoline.

During the 80's, several methods to convert NG to methanol were explored and offered promise, but when various legislation for oxygenated fuels and such was passed, methanol got squeezed out in favor of ethanol.

I'd think this would lend itself better to home refueling setup as many homes in the US have nat gas supply.  Would be a battle between utility companies and the gas station lobby for any widespread acceptance.

Natural gas fueling for transportation is best suited for fleet operations where vehicles come back to a station every night where they can be refueled. Since fuel tanks must be pressured to about 3600 psi or so, it is not possible to consider home refueling where gas pressures are a few inches of water. These refueling stations are very expensive (maybe on the order of $100,000), and rapid refueling results in high fuel temperatures that raises pressures, reducing the amount of gas that can be loaded. Thus, practical applications include garbage trucks, city buses, and in-city delivery vehicles.

Also keep in mind the large size, weight, and potential safety issues with high-pressure tanks. These limitations have typically lead to applications in trucks/buses rather than cars. Japan uses propane fueled taxies, but that decision was based on economics rather than clean air. Since propane is a bigger molecule than methane (the main component of natural gas), propane tanks are relatively low pressure compared to natural gas tanks. Propane typically burns cleaner than the gasoline, but not as cleanly as natural gas. However, natural gas produces a significant amount of methane emissions, and methane is much harder to catalyze in aftertreatment devices than other hydrocarbons like those emitted with gasoline combustion. Methane is particularly significant as a greenhouse gas.

Lee Dodge

Honda sells the GX, a nat gas car. Range is about 1/2 of gas, but on the other hand, NG is less than $2 per gallon equivalent around here - you fill up just like a gas station. You can get home refueling stations for it too. Engines last longer running NG.

Jon-

That Honda GX looks like a very interesting vehicle. It is a bit like an electric vehicle in terms of range limitations and refueling/recharging options. With a 7.8 gasoline equivalent tank capacity, assume that 7 gallons is usable, and with a combined average fuel efficiency of 28 mpg, the usable range would be about 196 miles, with limited refueling options. The home refill option (FuelMaker Phill) is about $4500 on eBay, not including installation (using the 2x multiplier to cover labor, maybe $9000 total), and the refill time for a complete fill is 16 hours. Again, this natural gas vehicle looks most suitable for fleet operations. I think it would be a hard sell as a commuter car due to the expensive cost for the compressor station and the slow refill times.

Natural gas is not a renewable fuel, while electricity from solar panels is, so electric cars have a huge advantage there. If the electricity source is solar panels, then the electric vehicle is essentially zero emissions, but the cost of the solar panels might be the same magnitude as a natural gas home refill station. The electric car range is very limited, maybe 100 miles or less for a Leaf, as compared to the range for the natural gas vehicle of 200 miles or less.

Lee Dodge

I agree with you. I would only add that in my city, the nat gas stations allow you to refuel in a couple minutes. So there wouldn't be any need to buy the expensive Phil home compressor. But it would not make a good car for road trips (which is why I haven't considered one). 200 mile range + public station fills would be fine for someone driving 25 miles/day and inconvenient for someone driving 200 miles/day. I suppose larger tanks are also possible.

Natural gas is a vital component of the world's supply of energy. It is one of the cleanest, safest, and most useful of all energy sources.In October 1989, Occidental Philippines, Inc. (Oxy), a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corporation, discovered natural gas in a deep-water well (the Camago well) located within a 350,000 hectare area 75 km. northwest offshore Palawan province and 500 km. south-SW of Luzon. While this was not the first natural gas discovery in the country - in 1980, the Philippine National Oil Company Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) discovered natural gas in Isabela, Northern Luzon sufficient to generate about 3MW of power – it seemed a promising find which augured well for the establishment of a Philippine natural gas industry.