LIQUID NATURAL GAS (LNG)
The interest in natural gas as an alternative transportation fuel stems mainly from its clean-burning qualities, its domestic resource base, and its commercial availability.
Because of the gaseous nature of this fuel, it must be stored onboard a vehicle as a liquefied (liquefied natural gas, LNG) state. CNG is considered alternative fuels under the Energy Policy Act of 1992.
To store more energy onboard a vehicle in a smaller volume, natural gas can be liquefied. To produce LNG, natural gas is purified and condensed into liquid by cooling to -260°F (-162°C). At atmospheric pressure, LNG occupies only 1/600 the volume of natural gas in vapor form. A GGE equals about 1.5 gallons of LNG. Because it must be kept at such cold temperatures, LNG is stored in double-wall, vacuum-insulated pressure vessels. LNG fuel systems typically are only used with heavy-duty vehicles.
Facts
- LNG is simply natural gas in its liquid form. It is the same natural gas more than 63 million American home owners use every day.
- Natural gas is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels.
- Natural gas is converted to LNG by cooling it to -260° Fahrenheit, at which point it becomes a liquid. This process reduces its volume by a factor of more than 600.
- LNG is an odorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive liquid, and if spilled, LNG would not result in a slick.
- here is no environmental cleanup needed for LNG spills on water or land.
- US produces about 22 % of the world's total natural gas production.
- LNG has energy density in the rank of petrol and diesel fuels and does less pollution than these two.
- LNG has been shipped around the world for the last 45 years (over 40,000 voyages) without any major accidents or safety issues.
- Natural gas is cleaner than diesel and gasoline, and there are currently over 120,000 natural gas vehicles operating on US roads.
People Involved in the Greater New Haven Coalition
Natural Gas Utility- Michael Smalec P.E- Manager Commercial/Industrial Energy for Southren CT Gas
Contact Information- msmalec@soconngas.com Work Number (203) 795-7748
Natural Gass Infrastructure Installer- Graham Barker- Air and Gas technologies
Contact Informations- grahambarker@earthlink.net- Work Number (203) 374-1795
