For those of you who crave the nitty-gritty textbook version of how CNG vehicles actually work (past filling the tank and pressing the pedal), head on over to HowStuffWorks.com for a chemical-by-chemical explanation of natural gas cars. For the meantime, here are some CNG advantages according to HSW:
“The biggest advantage of NGVs is that they reduce environmentally harmful emissions. natural-gas vehicles can achieve up to a 93 percent reduction in carbon monoxide emissions, 33 percent reduction in emissions of various oxides of nitrogen and a 50 percent reduction in reactive hydrocarbons when compared to gasoline vehicles. NGVs also rate higher in particulate matter 10 (PM10) emissions. PM10 particles transport and deposit toxic materials through the air. NGVs that operate in diesel applications can reduce PM10 emissions by a factor of 10.
Natural-gas vehicles also offer these benefits:NGVs are safer. The fuel storage tanks on an NGV are thicker and stronger than gasoline or diesel tanks. There has not been an NGV fuel-tank rupture in more than two years in the United States.Natural gas costs are lower than gasoline. On average, natural gas costs one-third less than gasoline at the pump.
Natural gas is convenient and abundant. A well-established pipeline infrastructure exists in the United States to deliver natural gas to almost every urban area and most suburban areas. There are more than 1,300 NGV fueling stations in the United States, and more are being added every day.Natural gas prices have exhibited significant stability compared to oil prices. Historically, natural gas prices have exhibited significant price stability compared to the prices of petroleum-based fuels. This stability makes it easier to plan accurately for long-term costs.
NGVs have lower maintenance costs. Because natural gas burns so cleanly, it results in less wear and tear on the engine and extends the time between tune-ups and oil changes. “
And while we here at CNGTulsa may be a bit biased toward our own cause, we are also the fair sort so here are CNG disadvantages from HSW, in a nutshell: the cars are less roomy, driving range is reduced, filling stations are currently not as common as gas stations, and natural gas is still a fossil fuel. A very clean fossil fuel, but nonrenewable nonetheless. Now then, if these facts are dimming your view of CNG vehicles I reccommend reading the advantages again; trunk space seems pretty trivial against slowing climate change.
Harris, William. “How Natural-gas Vehicles Work.” 09 September 2005. HowStuffWorks.com. <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ngv.htm> 15 May 2008.
May 26, 2008 at 4:15 pm |
I’m still constantly amazed at how addicted people are to oil. We have an abundant source of clean and efficient energy and some people are still refusing to look into it because of storage and infrastructure issues. Bah.