Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Jump to: navigation, search Blue diamond symbol used on CNG-powered vehicles in North America Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline (petrol), diesel, or propane fuel. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill (natural gas is lighter than air, and disperses quickly when released). CNG is made by compressing natural gas (which is mainly composed of methane [CH4]), to less than 1% of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers, at a normal pressure of 200220 bar (29003200 psi), usually in cylindrical or spherical shapes. CNG is used in traditional gasoline internal combustion engine cars that have been converted into bi-fuel vehicles (gasoline/CNG). Natural gas vehicles are increasingly used in Europe and South America due to rising gasoline prices. In response to high fuel prices and environmental concerns, CNG is starting to be used also in tuk-tuks and pickup trucks, transit and school buses, and trains. CNG's volumetric energy density is estimated to be 42% of LNG's (because it is not liquefied), and 25% of diesel's.[1]
Contents
[hide]
1 Technology 2 Drawbacks 3 Developments 4 CNG cars 5 Advantage CNG 6 CNG Locomotives 7 CNG compared to LNG 8 Worldwide o 8.1 South America o 8.2 South-East Asia o 8.3 South Asia o 8.4 Middle East and Africa o 8.5 Europe o 8.6 North America
8.6.1 Canada 8.6.2 United States of America o 8.7 Oceania 9 See also 10 References
[edit] Technology
A CNG powered high-floor Neoplan AN440A, operated by ABQ RIDE in Albuquerque, New Mexico. CNG can be used in Otto-cycle (gasoline) and modified Diesel cycle engines. Lean-burn Ottocycle engines can achieve higher thermal efficiencies than stoichiometric Otto-cycle engines, at the expense of higher NOx and hydrocarbon emissions. Electronically controlled stoichiometric engines offer the lowest emissions across the board and the highest possible power output, especially when combined with exhaust gas recirculation, turbocharging and intercooling, and three-way catalytic converters, but suffer in terms of heat rejection and fuel consumption. A suitably designed natural gas engine may have a higher output compared with a petrol engine because the octane number of natural gas is higher than that of petrol as this would allow for an engine design with a higher compression ratio. CNG may be refueled from low-pressure ("slow-fill") or high-pressure ("fast-fill") systems. The difference lies in the cost of the station vs. the refueling time. There are also some implementations to refuel out of a residential gas line during the night, but this is forbidden in some countries. Fueling a vehicle from a home natural gas fuel line is becoming more popular in the United States, especially in California and New York, and tax credits are available for installing the necessary appliance. CNG cylinders can be made of steel, aluminum, or plastic. Lightweight composite (fiberwrapped thin metal "ISO 11439 CNG-3" / fibre-wrapped plastic "ISO 11439 CNG-4") cylinders are especially beneficial for vehicular use because they offer significant weight reductions when compared with earlier generation steel and aluminum cylinders, which leads to lower fuel consumption. The CNG cylinders bundled with safety-valve generally follow the ISO 11439 standard.[2] The equipment required for CNG to be delivered to an Otto-cycle engine includes a pressure regulator (a device that converts the natural gas from storage pressure to metering pressure) and
a gas mixer or gas injectors (fuel metering devices). Earlier-generation CNG conversion kits featured venturi-type gas mixers that metered fuel using the Venturi effect. Often assisting the gas mixer was a metering valve actuated by a stepper motor relying on feedback from an exhaust gas oxygen sensor. Newer CNG conversion kits feature electronic multi-point gas injection, similar to petrol injection systems found in most of today's cars.
[edit] Drawbacks
CNG pumps at a Brazilian gasoline fueling station Compressed natural gas vehicles require a greater amount of space for fuel storage than conventional gasoline power vehicles. Since it is a compressed gas, rather than a liquid like gasoline, CNG takes up more space for each gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE). Therefore, the tanks used to store the CNG usually take up additional space in the trunk of a car or bed of a pickup truck which runs on CNG. This problem is solved in factory-built CNG vehicles that install the tanks under the body of the vehicle, thanks to a more rational disposition of components, leaving the trunk free (eg. Fiat Multipla, New Fiat Panda, Volkswagen Touran Ecofuel, Chevy Taxi (sold in countries such as Peru) etc). CNG-powered vehicles are considered to be safer than gasoline-powered vehicles.[3][4][5]
Fuel Source
Natural gas is, well, natural gas--the same stuff that heats your stove or your house. It is largely produced domestically in the United States; it can be imported through pipelines or as a cryogenic (super-cold) liquid on special tanker ships, but because this is a lot harder than pouring crude or refined oil into a tanker or a pipeline, we haven't built up an import dependency for natural gas as we have for petroleum. (Interest in imported natural gas is growing, however, as domestic production has lagged behind increasing demand for this clean fuel.)
[edit] Developments
Scientists are developing methods of storing methane in a new form known as ANG (Absorbed Natural Gas) at 35 bar (500 psi, the pressure of gas in natural gas pipelines) in various sponge like materials, such as activated carbon[6] and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). [7] The fuel is stored at similar or greater energy density than CNG. The benefits are that vehicles can be refuelled from the natural gas network without extra gas compression, the fuel tanks can be made of lighter, less strong materials, and the tank designed to be much slimmer.
particulate matter (PM), as compared to petrol . For example, an engine running on petrol for 100kms emits 22,000 grams of CO2, while covering the same distance on CNG emits only 16,275 grams of CO2. The corresponding figures are 78 and 25.8 grams respectively, for nitrogen oxides. Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced even further. Due to lower carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions, switching to CNG can help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions[12]
Advantages
Compressed natural gas is like liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in many ways, only more so. It is very easy on the engine, giving longer service life and lower maintenance costs. CNG is the least expensive alternative fuel (except electricity) when you compare equal amounts of fuel energy, and, in my experience at least, its price has been relatively steady (except for one big jump when California utility regulators changed the rules!). At the peak of the big gasoline price run-up in April, 1996, I was paying half as much for a gasoline-gallon-equivalent of 130-octane natural gas as I would have paid for a gallon of 92-octane unleaded gasoline! Even with the natural-gas price spikes of the last few years, I have found the price of CNG to be less volatile, and on average lower, than that of gasoline. The high octane rating of natural gas allows the CNG-powered Honda Civic GX to use a very high compression ratio and produce more power than stock gasoline versions. My own van has a stock compression ratio and about 10% lower power output than the gasoline version with the same-size engine, but I get significantly better fuel economy on the open road because the high octane rating of the fuel allows timing and mixture to be adjusted for more efficiency without
causing detonation ("knocking"). And, as with LPG, because the fuel tanks have to withstand such enormous internal pressures, they are incredibly tough, with good results for safety. In addition, because natural gas is lighter than air and has very narrow flammability limits, if a leak develops it is very likely that the fuel will dissipate harmlessly into the air without causing a danger of ignition or explosion. Natural gas has, over the course of the 1990's, proven to be the most effective fuel for reducing emissions in an internal combustion engine. The 1993 Dodge full-size CNG vans like mine were the first vehicles to meet the California Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standards; the 1994 Chrysler/Dodge CNG minivans were the first to meet the Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV) standards; the 1997 Ford CNG pickups and vans were the first to meet the Super Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) standards; and the CNG Honda Civic GX has been the cleanest internal-combustion-engine vehicle ever tested by the EPA in every year since its 1998 introduction. There are now a fair number of gasoline-powered vehicles that run cleaner than my van, but it took five years for the first gasoline vehicle to catch up (with a much smaller engine than my van's!), and in the meantime natural-gas-vehicle emissions have continued to plummet.
Disadvantages
Again, CNG is like LPG, but more so. The tanks are quite bulky and heavy, about three times more so than LPG tanks (have a look at the photos of my van--the tanks are half-inch-thick aluminum clad with reinforced fiberglass), though modern composite technology is starting to be used to cut weight and cost (as on the Honda Civic GX). Range is significantly less than for an equivalent gasoline vehicle, unless you really go overboard adding extra fuel tanks! And again, mostly because of the heavy-duty tanks, there is currently a large price premium for a CNG vehicle compared to a gasoline version ($3000-5000). The fuel and maintenance costs can be enough cheaper, however (like the first time you don't have to spend $2000 to overhaul the engine!), in a high-mileage application like a transit bus, a taxi, or a shuttle van, that this will repay the higher initial purchase price over time (and, depending on where you live, you can piece together enough federal, state, and local incentive money to cover most of the extra purchase cost in the first place--this was true for me). Finally, the refueling infrastructure is still growing, as noted above.