EP-ACT - Natural Gas

Log in

Natural gas is an odorless, nontoxic, gaseous mixture of hydrocarbons—predominantly methane (CH4).

It is domestically produced and readily distributed through pipelines in the united states and in pennsylvania. It is a gaseous fuel which means, it must be stored onboard a vehicle in either a compressed gaseous or liquefied state. Compressed natural gas (cng) is typically stored in a tank at a pressure of 3,000 to 3,600 pounds per square inch. Liquefied natural gas (lng) is super-cooled and stored in its liquid phase at -260°f in special insulated tanks. Natural gas is sold in units of gasoline (gge’s) or diesel (dge’s) gallon equivalents based on the energy content of a gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

To provide adequate driving range for a vehicle, CNG is stored in cylinders at a pressure of 3,000 to 3,600 pounds per square inch. A CNG-powered vehicle gets about the same fuel economy as a conventional gasoline vehicle on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis. A GGE equals about 5.66 pounds of CNG. CNG is used in light, medium and heavy-duty applications.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

LNG is produced by purifying natural gas and super-cooling it to -260°F to turn it into a liquid. Because it must be kept at cold temperatures, LNG is stored in double-walled, vacuum-insulated pressure vessels. LNG is good for trucks needing a longer range because liquid is more dense than gas (CNG) and, therefore, more energy can be stored by volume in a given tank. LNG is typically used in medium and heavy-duty vehicles; a GGE equals about 1.5 gallons of LNG.