CNG stated as compressed natural gas is a fuel used in place of petrol, and diesel fuel It produces fewer undesirable gases in the combustion process than petrol and diesel. Let us have a deep insight into the pros and cons of CNG in this article.
Advantages of CNG:
- Less Harmful than coal or oil and environmentally friendly.
- Easy storage and transport because natural gas stored and transported through pipelines, small storage units, cylinders or tankers on land and sea.
- The vehicles operating on CNG has lower maintenance costs as compared to hydrocarbon fuel-powered vehicles so reduced fuel cost.
- CNG gives a better life to lubricating oils, as it does not contaminate and dilute the crankcase oil.
- It produces less pollution in the form of CO2, CO, NOx and SOx as compared to petrol.
- It is lighter than air and tends to dissipate when there is a leakage unlike Propane, which is heavier than air, collects into explosive pockets.
- Using CNG makes the engine cleaner and more efficient.
- Reduced maintenance cost.
- CNG has higher octane levels averaging over 120 octane.
- CNG is abundant in the U.S The country has extensive natural gas resources and a well-established network of pipelines.
- Switching to CNG can help ease the country's dependence to foreign oil.
Disadvantages of CNG:
- Reduced power for the same engine capacity.
- CNG filling stations are very limited.
- The performance of the car is reduced significantly.
- Acceleration is slower so you may have to rev the engine more to get going.
- The burning of natural gas also releases carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other carbon components which are greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
- Provide less mileage than gasoline.
- Leaks of natural gas are dangerous they may cause explosions or fire. the main danger is that the odourless and leaks cannot be detached unless some odorant has been added to the gas.
- Conversion kits tend to come with a high cost typically it would only make financial sense to convert a late model vehicle to CNG because of the conversion cost.
- Storage space is a very big issue because CNG tanks are large in size so boot space is reduced.
- Cars with CNG kits should always be started on petrol and run for a few kilometres before being switched to the green fuel. This warms up the engine better and gets the motor well lubricated. This cause the injectors to crust and get blocked.
- Non-renewable energy source.
- Natural gas is a source of violence and terrorism.
- Natural gas emits some quantities of greenhouse gas.
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