compressed natural gas

COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS, OR CNG AS IT IS COMMONLY KNOW, IS A CLEAN BURNING FUEL THAT CAN BE USED IN PLACE OF GASOLINE, DIESEL AND PROPANE. IT IS OFTEN referred TO AS “THE GREEN FUEL”, REFERRING TO ITS CHARACTERISTICS OF BEING ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY AND SUSTAINABLE. BELOW WE WILL LOOK AT SOME OF THE REASONS WHY CNG IS A BETTER FUEL AND WHY.

advantages of cng

FEWER BYPRODUCTS

CNG COMBUSTION PRODUCES FEWER UNDESIRABLE GASES THAN THE FUELS MENTIONED ABOVE. SINCE NATURAL GAS IS COMPOSED MAINLY OF METHANE, BURNING IT PRODUCES CARBON DIOXIDE AND WATER VAPOR, WHICH ARE THE SAME COMPOUNDS WE EXHALE WHEN WE BREATHE.

SO WHILE TYPICAL FUELS ARE HEAVILY LOADED WITH CHEMICALS, THUS RELEASING HARMFUL BYPRODUCTS INTO THE AIR WHEN THEY ARE USED, CNG BYPRODUCTS DO NOT HAVE A DAMAGING EFFECT ON THE AIR WE BREATHE OR ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

THE USE OF CNG ACTUALLY REDUCES THE RELEASE OF HARMFUL EMISSIONS, WHICH LEADS TO A REDUCTION IN AIR POLLUTION, THUS MAKING THE ENVIRONMENT SAFER FOR EVERYONE.

AVAILABILITY & ECONOMY

AS THE COST OF DIESEL CONTINUES TO RISE, LOWER-COST NATURAL GAS FUEL PRICES REMAIN RELATIVELY STABLE—AND CONSIDERABLY LESS EXPENSIVE—MAKING IT AN ECONOMICAL CHOICE.

CNG IS A COST EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO REGULAR FUEL. ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR THIS IS THAT NATURAL GAS IS DOMESTICALLY SOURCED AND ABUNDANT IN SUPPLY.

IF YOU'VE SPENT ANY TIME BEING OUTRAGED AT THE PRICE OF GASOLINE, YOU'VE PROBABLY LOOKED INTO THE CURRENT CONDITIONS OF THE OIL MARKET. A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH WILL DEMONSTRATE THAT THE OIL MARKET IS A TRUE GLOBAL MARKET. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE VARIOUS OIL MARKETS, THEY ALL REACT IN TANDEM TO GLOBAL EVENTS, WHICH AFFECT THE PRICE OF OIL.

THE NATURAL GAS MARKET IS DIFFERENT.

BECAUSE THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO TRANSPORT NATURAL GAS IS ON LAND, THROUGH PIPELINES, THE COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE WITHIN THE UNITED STATES IS PRODUCED RIGHT HERE. IT IS PUMPED FROM AMERICAN WEELS BY AMERICAN WORKERS AND PIPED TO STATIONS RUN BY AMERICAN COMPANIES.

FURTHERMORE, IT DOES NOT GO OVERSEAS, AND IT IS NOT AFFECTED BY GLOBAL CIRCUMSTANCES.

EVEN IN A DEPRESSED DIESEL FUEL MARKET, CNG CONTINUES TO BE LESS COSTLY THAN DIESEL FUEL AND WILL STILL REPRESENTS AN INSTANT CASH-FLOW SAVINGS WITHIN YOUR PERSONAL ECONOMY.

INFRASTRUCTURE

COMPARED TO OTHER ALTERNATIVE FUEL OPTIONS, CNG OUTPERFORMS THE COMPETITION WHEN IT COMES TO THE NUMBER OF FUELING STATIONS AVAILABLE. THIS MEANS THAT NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE WITHIN THE UNITED STATES, OR HOW FAR YOU ARE PLANNING ON TRAVELLING, YOU WILL MOST LIKELY BE ABLE TO FUEL UP WHEN YOU NEED IT.

SAFETY

CNG POWERED VEHICLES ARE CONSIDERED TO BE SAFER THAN GASOLINE-POWERED VEHICLES.

  1. CNG IS LESS LIKELY TO IGNITE ON HOT SURFACES, SINCE IT HAS A HIGH AUTO-IGNITION TEMPERATURE (540 °C), AND A NARROW RANGE (5–15 PERCENT) OF FLAMMABILITY.
  2. IT IS SAFER THAN OTHER FUELS IN THE EVENT OF A SPILL, BECAUSE NATURAL GAS IS LIGHTER THAN AIR AND DISPERSES QUICKLY WHEN RELEASED.

AFTER REVIEWING THE VARIOUS PERSONAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL ADVANTAGES OF CNG AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL, IT IS EASY TO SEE WHY THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES IN THE WORLD USING CNG HAS GROWN STEADILY AT ABOUT 30 PERCENT PER YEAR.