This post covers the trending news on Compressed Natural Gas in Nigeria, how converting a normal gasoline-run car into a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) works and the advantages Compressed Natural Gas usage have over Deisel and Fuel as alternatives.
What is Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)?
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), commonly known as “methane”, is a natural gas that compresses at a pressure of 220 to 250 bar and is used as an energy source in industry or motor fuel in vehicles. The quality of natural gas is excellent due to a high and uniform percentage of methane of 97%.
There has been some good news on the Compressed Natural Gas Initiative like “the Federal Government of Nigeria has announced its plans to deploy 11,500 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered buses as a means to ease the public’s transport challenges heightened by the subsidy removal.”,
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“Nipco Plc has converted a total of 5,600 vehicles in Nigeria to use Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), as one of the company’s efforts at providing access and alternative to motorist to power their automobiles.”.
“Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing in Nnewi Anambra State, south east Nigeria, has mass-produced and unveiled Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) enabled vehicles, which the company says are alternatives of fuel-enabled cars for Nigerians amidst the rising price of petrol and diesel”.
Innoson Boss speaking on the future of alternative fuels, he stated that CNG vehicles bring a solution to total dependence on one or two kinds of vehicles.
The Governor of Anambra State, represented by the Commissioner for Industry, Mr. Christian Udechukwu disclosed that Anambra State is gearing up to provide solutions to the challenges Nigerians currently face because of the removal of fuel subsidies.
In his words,“The withdrawal of the subsidy has created a shock and the price of fuel has increased by almost 200% leading to restiveness in the Nigerian Labour Congress, the trade unions, and other Nigerians. The cost of transportation has risen apparently and one of the ways the government can alleviate that is by introducing mass transit systems that run on alternative energies as well as fuel. The more you have the ones that run on gas and solar, the greater the chances of a stable fuel price due to the existence of choices.”
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He also added that “local manufacturing and empowered industries are needed in Nigeria to boost the economy and shrink the national debt profile. All we need is for the industries and everyone else to look to local solutions.”
In December 2020, the FG launched the National Gas Expansion Program aimed at making CNG the first choice of cheaper and cleaner energy for Nigerians and reducing the country’s high reliance on petrol. However, the adoption rate of this technology has been low due to a large lack of awareness among citizens and lack of infrastructures.
The removal of the fuel subsidy has created the opportunity for the government to promote the CNG initiative to the public who in search of a more affordable alternative to fuel their vehicles.
Some of advantages Nigerian Have on Natural Gas Vehicles
- Gas has high combustion rate than fuel. So generally, gas is more environmentally friendly.
- Nigerians has abundance of natural gas
- Compressed Natural Gas as sustainable alternatives to all.
- Affordable alternative
How the Conversion Process Works
Converting a normal gasoline-run car into a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) car is a complex process that involves significant modifications to the vehicle’s fuel system and engine. Only certified conversion centers and trained professionals can carry out the process.
Contact: Oil and Gas Consultancy Service Company
The process starts with a vehicle safety and compatibility assessment and then a CNG Kit installation, where the CNG is stored in high-pressure tanks, typically in the trunk or under the vehicle. These tanks are made to withstand high pressure and are designed to be safe. After the installation, special high-pressure fuel lines are installed to connect the CNG storage tanks to the engine and a regulator and reducer are installed to reduce the pressure of the CNG before it enters the engine.
Benefits CNG includes:
Environmental benefits
CNG burns cleaner when compared to traditional petrol and diesel. Carbon monoxide emissions are reduced by roughly 80 percent, and 44 percent fewer hydrocarbons are produced in comparison to gasoline-powered vehicles. CNG cars also run quieter than gasoline and diesel vehicles, which results in less noise pollution.
Economic Benefits
CNG is cheaper fuel than petrol and diesel. If a vehicle’s average consumption is 8l/100 km of petrol, if converted to LPG it’s consumption would be around 10l/100 km of gas. But, if we convert it to CNG, it’s consumption would be 5,5kg/100 km of methane. It is more than obvious what are the cost savings by switching to CNG.
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Safety
In the event of a collision, CNG cylinders are less dangerous than gasoline and diesel tanks because of its size, structure, and location within the vehicle. These cylinders have safety devices which are designed to release the gas if there is a higher-than-normal pressure or temperature. The ignition temperature of CNG is 600⁰C, which is higher than gasoline (320⁰C) and diesel (285⁰C). This means that CNG vehicles are less likely to catch fire under any circumstances. In the event of a leak, CNG is lighter than air, meaning that it will dissipate into the atmosphere, unlike gasoline or diesel which pools on the ground and serves as a fire hazard.
Cleaner Fuel
CNG does not have sulphur, particulate matter, traces of heavy metals or toxic additives in it, which may contaminate your motor oil.
Lower maintenance costs
The maintenance cost of your vehicle will be cut down since there can be longer periods between tune-ups and oil changes.
Less damage to your car
CNG combusting leaves little to no residue when compared to traditional gasoline and diesel. This means that damages to pipes and tubes in the vehicle’s engines are reduced.
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Better performance
Dedicated natural gas engines are superior in performance to gasoline engines because natural gas has an octane rating of approximately 130, whereas super and unleaded have octane levels of 95 and 98 respectively. One can agree that the benefits that come from using CNG are very appealing. In the future, it can be predicted that many more citizens will be keen on either converting to CNG or purchasing CNG vehicles.
In conclusion, while the Compressed Natural Gas plan as alternative to other energy sources is going on well in Nigeria, we advise that government should also to look at the development infrastructures like Compressed Natural Gas station.