| With the jacking up of automobile fuel prices by the government, compressed natural gas (CNG) is suddenly the people’s favourite fuel. Motorists are queuing in their hundreds to get their cars converted while others are parked on the fence, wondering what the fuss is all about. Why is CNG considered an economical gas that is an alternative to diesel/petrol? Is it safe? What will it do to my engine? What are the emissions and how will they harm the atmosphere?
Well, let me tell you, it is gaseous fuel and is a mixture of hydrocarbons. For use in automobiles, it is compressed to a pressure of approximately 220 bars to increase the vehicle onboard storage capacity
The properties of CNG make it a safe fuel. It is lighter than air, so in case of a leak it just rises up and disperses into the atmosphere. Besides, a high auto-ignition temperature of 540 degrees centigrade as against petrol’s 360 degrees centigrade, makes it a safe fuel. Also, in case of a leak, if CNG’s concentration in the air is less than 5 per cent and more than 15 per cent, the gas will not burn even in the presence of a spark.
CNG is an environment friendly fuel. The natural gas is mainly composed of methane and its exhaust emissions consist of water vapours and a small fraction of carbon monoxide. The absence of carbon and other particulates result in negligible amount of harmful elements in exhaust fumes.
Owing to CNG’s distinct features, it does not contaminate or dilute crankcase oil, giving a new lease of life to the engine. The absence of any lead content in CNG helps avoid lead fouling of plugs, thereby enhancing plug life. One of the important benefits of CNG is that upon entering the engine in the form of a gas (and not as a spray or mist like other fuels), it doesn’t disturb the presence of lubricating oil in the engine, and reduces chances of wear and tear.
Natural gas easily mixes with the air even at low temperature. It is pollution-free and totally environment friendly. It is non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-carcinogenic. Its high compression ratio reduces fuel consumption and it cannot be adulterated or pilfered..
Practically every type of vehicle can be operated with CNG, including school buses, public transport buses, delivery trucks, cars, autorickshaws, taxi cabs, cargo vans and many other vehicles and stationary engines such as diesel generating sets.
The world leader in this field is the US but the cost of American kits is prohibitive. The Australians too make decent quality kits but they refused to part with their technology. Nugas Technologies then turned to NGV Motori, a leading Italian company manufacturing CNG kits and related items.
Nugas has entered into a joint working arrangement with NGV Motori to set up a common working platform to jointly explore the Indian and SAARC markets for business in the CNG conversion market.
The kit-components have in-built safety measures. The cylinders and valves are designed and manufactured to specific codes approved by the chief controller of explosives.
—The author is the Chairman and Managing Director of Nugas Technologies Ltd. |
