Alternative Fuel Conference - CNG is the "Fuel of the Future"

At the 2014 Louisiana Alternative Fuel Conference and Expo that took place in May at LSU, speakers touted compressed natural gas as the "fuel of the future."  While not a new concept, (as natural gas fueling stations and vehicles have been around for many years now in the U.S., but are much more prevalent in foreign countries,) the use of compressed natural gas is growing in popularity, especially as diesel gas prices continue to remain volatile.

Fleet vehicles in particular benefit from the conversion to compressed natural gas, largely because of the extensive nature of the work expected from these vehicles.  They require a tremendous amount of gasoline, which makes it extremely expensive to operate.  CNG costs substantially less than diesel fuel as it is domestically available and abundant.  Additionally, operating and general maintenance costs of natural gas vehicles tend to be less.  Because natural gas is the cleanest of all fossil fuels, natural gas vehicles generally require fewer oil changes and less frequent servicing.
Rueben Stokes, a spokesperson for Ryder Truck Leasing Company, who currently has around 500 natural gas vehicles in its fleet and is expecting to double that number by the end of the year, said in regards to their decision to switch to CNG, "We have made a significant commitment to natural gas because we believe it’s going to be the fuel of the future," (theadvocate.com.)

The environmental impact of converting vehicles to CNG is significant.  NGVs produce 33-75% less nitrogen oxide, 21% less greenhouse gases, and 50-67% less particulates.  Also, natural gas systems have zero evaporative emissions since their fueling system is a sealed system. This is a major air quality benefit of natural gas technologies, (emissions of evaporative hydrocarbons through the fueling system are one of the most significant air pollution problems associated with gasoline powered vehicles.)

Source: Amy Wold, theAdvocate.com

For more information on compressed natural gas conversion, call our specialists at 913.310.0705, or check out our Alternative Fuels page on our website.