Natural Gas Vehicles
Vehicles That Run on Natural Gas
2012 Natural Gas Vehicles
Even though natural gas cars are not real prevalent, natural gas trucks and natural gas buses are becoming much more common in most major cities and recreational areas. During a recent trip to South Lake Tahoe and to Yosemite, we were surprised to see the public transit buses were running on natural gas. 2012 natural gas vehicles (NGVs) are much cleaner burning than diesel trucks and buses. As long as a fueling station is close by, these vehicles are much more economical to drive than a conventional truck or bus. There are federal funds, and in many states, tax incentives to go with natural gas vehicles. Actually, between 12-15% of all public transit buses throughout the U.S. now run on Natural gas. Nearly one in every five new buses ordered today are slated to run on natural gas. That number will increase significantly over the coming years.
A majority
of natural gas vehicles operate on compressed natural
gas (CNG). This compressed gas is stored similarly to a car's gasoline
tank, which is attached to the rear, top, or undercarriage of the
vehicle. The storage tank is
a tube shaped tank. A CNG
tank can be filled in a similar manner as a gasoline tank, and in a
similar amount of time.
Natural gas
fuels a combustion engine similar to engines fueled by other sources.
However, in a NGV, several components require modification to
allow the engine to run efficiently on natural gas.
In addition to using CNG, some natural gas vehicles are fueled by
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
There are also some natural gas vehicles that exist today that are
bi-fuel vehicles. This means
they can use either gasoline or natural gas, allowing for more
flexibility, depending on which fuel is available. Many of these
vehicles, which originally operated only on gasoline, have been
converted to allow the vehicles to run on either fuel.
This kind of conversion is costly, and typically results in less
efficient use of natural gas. There are many trucks that are currently
being converted to natural gas. In some areas, even taxi cabs are being
converted. For high mileage vehicles a conversion to natural gas is very
cost effective.
2012
Vehicles That Run On Natural Gas
Who Uses
Natural Gas Cars?
Most people don’t personally know anyone who owns one. Did you
realize that compressed natural gas (CNG) cars have been sold in the
United States for more than a decade? Currently the only
CNG car for sale is the Honda Civic GX. Natural
gas vehicles as they exist today are best suited for large fleets of
vehicles that drive many miles per day. Those vehicles include taxicabs,
school and transit buses, construction vehicles, airport shuttles,
delivery vehicles, garbage trucks, and public works vehicles.
It is economical and beneficial to convert these vehicles to
natural gas since they are centrally maintained and fueled. One of the
main drawbacks to natural gas vehicles is the availability of natural
gas fueling stations. Or should I say the lack of fueling stations.
There are currently about 1,000 fueling stations across the United
States, half of which are open to the public. This is starting to
change. Love’s Travel Stops recently announced that they are working in
conjunction with Chesapeake Energy Corp., the second-largest U.S.
producer of natural gas. Both companies are headquartered in Oklahoma
City, Oklahoma. Love’s will be opening ten CNG fueling stations in
Oklahoma. They own 280 stores across the nation. They are hopeful to
open additional fueling stations as time goes on.
One of the
primary reasons for pursuing alternative fuels for vehicle technology is
to decrease harmful emissions into the environment.
Natural gas is the cleanest burning fuel known to man. Vehicles
on the roads are currently estimated to produce approximately 60% of all
carbon monoxide pollution.
In addition, they produce 29% of hydrocarbon emissions, and 31% of
nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in the United States. The combination of
all of this emission released into the atmosphere contributes to smog
pollution, and increase the levels of dangerous ground level ozone.
Vehicles also account for the emission of over half of all
dangerous air pollutants, and around 30% of total carbon emissions in
the U.S., contributing to the presence of “greenhouse gases” in the
atmosphere. The environmental effects from natural gas vehicles are much less detrimental
than traditionally fueled vehicles.
You can get more information on environmental standards through
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
One of the primary reasons for pursuing alternative fuels for vehicle
technology is to decrease
harmful emissions into the environment. Vehicles on
the roads are estimated to produce approximately 60% of carbon monoxide
pollution. In addition, they produce 29% of hydrocarbon emissions,
and 31% of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in the United States. The
combination of all of these emissions released into the atmosphere
contribute to smog pollution, and increase the levels of dangerous
ground level ozone. Vehicles also account for the emission of over
half of all dangerous air pollutants, and around 30% of total carbon
emissions in the U.S., contributing to the presence of 'greenhouse
gases' in the atmosphere. The environmental effects of NGVs are much
less detrimental than traditionally fueled vehicles. You can get
more information on environmental standards through the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA).
Westport
Innovations Inc. is one of the largest manufacturers of CNG and LNG
engines in the world. They
made significant improvements and refinements to the original High
Pressure Direct Injection (HPDI) technology, and then demonstrated its
benefits in real-world applications; then launched an engine and fuel
system for heavy-duty applications.
As of 2005, Cummins Westport, a subsidiary of Westport
Innovations Inc. offered medium and heavy-duty natural gas vehicle
engines from 150 to 320 horsepower which are available for nearly 60 OEM
vehicles. They also had more
than 28,000 engines in service worldwide.
Westport Innovations Inc. is a world leader in this innovative
technology.
In June of
2011, General Motors struck a deal with Westport Innovations Inc. to
produce natural gas engines for their applications. This is a clear sign
that GM is committed to moving forward with natural gas vehicles.
The price of
natural gas is driving many local governments and companies to operate
CNG vehicles rather than the conventional diesel rigs.
In many areas of the country, the price of natural gas is less
than $2 per gallon equivalent to gasoline. Not only is natural gas a
cleaner burning fuel, but it is much more abundant in our country than
regular fossil fuel. With
newer technologies in place such as fracking, it makes much more sense
to go after more natural gas. Fracking is a term used for hydraulic
fracturing of shale rock which is deep below the surface of the earth.
Using high water pressure, it breaks up the shale and releases the
natural gas. If the United States aggressively goes after this natural
gas source, we will not only reduce our dependency on foreign oil, but
can start exporting it to other countries. In the process, we can create
thousands of jobs, and help our struggling economy. As people catch on
to natural gas cars, their production should escalate extensively over
the next few years.
Many forget
that 25% of the nation’s energy consumed is in the form of natural gas.
Most of that gas is used to heat homes and businesses.
Many home appliances such as stoves and hot water heater are also
operated on natural gas. Actually, only 1% of our nation’s natural gas
is currently being used for transportation in one form or another.
With the abundant supply of natural gas available,
natural gas vehicles 2012 make a
lot of sense.
Here are
some questions this material and other related pages should have
answered:
·
Is natural gas a good alternative fuel for vehicles?
·
Are there natural gas vehicles on U.S. highways?
·
Is natural gas less expensive than gasoline?
·
What process is used to recover natural gas?
·
Why are natural gas buses called clean air vehicles?
·
Can cars with gasoline engines run on natural gas?
·
Are there CNG vehicles for sale in the United States?
·
Is it possible to convert a gasoline engine to run on natural gas?