“Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline (petrol), diesel, or propane fuel. It is considered by some to be a more environmentally “clean” alternative to those fuels, although it produces greenhouse gases, and it is much safer than other motor fuels in the event of a fuel spill: natural gas is lighter than air, so it disperses quickly when leaked or spilled.

It is made by compressing natural gas (which is mainly composed of methane (CH4)), to less than 1% of its volume at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers, at a normal pressure of 200–220 bar (2900-3200 psi), usually in cylindrical or spherical shapes.

Compressed natural gas is used in traditional gasoline cars that are thus turned into bi-fuel (gasoline/CNG) cars. CNG/gasoline cars are increasingly used in Europe and South America due to rising gasoline prices.

In response to high fuel prices and environmental concerns, compressed natural gas is starting to be used also in light-duty passenger vehicles and pickup trucks, medium-duty delivery trucks, transit, school buses and trains.

It has a lower energy density compared to LNG (42%), because CNG is not liquified, and to diesel (25%) [1].”

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Do you know anyone with a CNG vehicle? We would like to know first hand of your accounts.

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But something is different about this car. It is completely run on Ethanol. Yes, that is right, E-100. Not anymore of this E-10 blend that you pay ten cents less and get less fuel efficiency. We know, you are looking at previous posts of ours and thinking, you said earlier you get less efficiency with Ethanol, but here is a quote that The Boston Globe got from SAAB; “One problem with cars fueled by ethanol is that they have a 25 to 35 percent shorter travel range than gas-powered ones, Bergstrom said. Saab and other automakers hope to close that gap by using ethanol in applications with cleaner diesel, hybrid gasoline/electric engines, and turbocharged smaller engines, which develop more power than even some of the V-8s and even V-6s so popular in the United States.” Sweden has the right idea. Why are we not propelling the same initiatives?

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There are some great things going on behind the scenes with the 90 plus companies that want to win this prize, and we are going to look at a few so that you can form an opinion.

Aptera-Three wheelers that are classified as motorcycles.  Both hybrid and electric (100-130 MPG).

FuelVapor Technologies-Another trike, but this one runs on fumes…literally (92 MPG).

MDI/Zero Pollution-This car runs on, get this, air.  Compressed air pushes this car and a secondary fuel makes sure that you get over 100 MPG.

Tesla-You know these guys, they’re the ones that are into building electric vehicles.  Pretty popular with the press.

Venture Vehicles-Zip around on three wheels from Venture and expect 100 MPG from either an electric or hybrid system.

Zap-This company already sells a bunch of cars.  They’re worth a look if you have the time.

As great as all of this is, we can’t let it make us complacent.  Even if new fuel efficiencies take us to places we’ve never been before, and even if we’re saving gallons and money, we still have to keep innovating for the future because the problem hasn’t been solved.

Check out the X-Prize website for all the info.

This gentleman has the same thoughts that we do.  The main being collaboration.  We as a society can do anything, if we were all on the same page.  We want to personally thank Mitch Miller for the insight and reference for this video for a second post.  Take the next 5 minutes and do yourself and our country a favor and watch the video.

T. Boone Pickens

Together…we can take a stand to make a difference!!

Here’s the car: The Honda Civic GX

If you don’t want to click on the link, then we’ll just tell you that it is a compressed natural gas car (CNG).  What is the main benefit to this alternative fuel?  It can have, for now at least, a much lower price than what you are currently paying at the pump.  Aside from that, it burns cleaner than gasoline and when you buy you are buying a fuel that was probably made in the U.S.

The car’s $25K price tag is even softer on the wallet when you take into account the tax credits, and at $1.50 per gallon for the fuel, there are even more savings to be had.  The one issue linked to that $1.50 number is that it relies on a home refueling unit, so there’ll be some extra cost there.  There are supposed to be tax credits for the home install though, but make sure to do some research in your state to find out what is available.

The advantages never come without disadvantages, and the biggest for this type of vehicle seems to be the issue of scarcity.  The car is hard to find and fueling stations are not ubiquitous.  Even if these are big barriers, we still encourage you to crunch some numbers and see if it might work out for you.

Don’t like Honda or don’t want to plunk down the $25K?  You can convert your existing vehicle to CNG.  This link is a good place to start if you want to go that route.  Oh, and you’ll probably need to know where to get fuel.  Try this service station finder.

Note: We know this post runs opposite of saving money on natural gas in the home, but if a subject will save money in a different area and help the environment at the same time, we are obligated to report.

1. Less than 50 miles driving per day.

2. No need to go over 55 mph.

3. Live in a dry, temperate climate.

4. A helmet.

5. An adventurous side.

That’s right, folks, we’re talking about an electric moped.  This moped, however, packs quite a punch.  It has a top speed of 55 mph, an estimated range of more than 70 miles (it probably won’t make this mark at high speeds), an expected battery life of 7 - 10 years, and is a ton of fun to drive.  Being 100% electric, you could throw some solar panels or a wind turbine up and be driving for free for as long as the bike lasts you.  Can anyone say freedom from petrol?  It is just too bad a vehicle like this won’t see wider adoption because of silly stuff like lugging the kids around or getting to work dry, but hey, at least some people could convert.

Oh, you want to know what it is?

XM-3500 LI Electric Moped

With a price tag of around $4000 you could trade your car in tomorrow and be saving thousands of gallons and, consequently, thousands of dollars.

If  the most you know about Ethanol is that you have that option at the pump, we are going to break it down a little for you.  Ethanol is just two words put together; Ethyl and Alcohol, which is the composition of Ethanol.  If you have ever had an alcoholic beverage, you have consumed Ethyl Alcohol.  Ethanol can be made by using either corn or sugarcane.  If you have the desire to learn more about the actual Ethanol, go here and read up on it.  The actual production is rather interesting.

Let’s get to the green side though.

There are two basic production types for Ethanol; Wet Milling and Dry Milling, with the main difference being the initial treatment of the grain.  We could spend all day telling you the difference between the two production cycles, but this post is about the Green side of the Ethanol Production.  So, if you want to see the difference between dry milling and wet milling go HERE where it explains the basics behind the production cycle and they even have a video for those of you like us, who like pictures

One of the major changes is that instead of using natural gas to run the plant, the green Ethanol plants are using methane gas from cattle manure to generate the steam that is needed to produce the Ethanol.  That switch in itself could save up to the equivalent of 1000 barrels of oil a day.

So, while we agreed that, presently, buying E-10 may not save you at the pump when it comes to dollars, it is a way to cut down oil consumption.

Here is a detailed diagram of what an Energy Efficient plant does.

We tend to agree with you.  We also have someone in the Ethanol business, and he suggests that different blends tend to be more efficient.  Somtimes it takes a little tinkering with the blend to find the optimal feul effiency.  This same person that we know has a early 2000 model Acura and he says he got 30 MPG with blending E-30.  Again, your point is well taken, E-30 is not readily available for everyone.  Right at the pump, we can get E-10 and it is ten cents cheaper than regular gasoline.  If you are saying you got 3 mpg more out of your vehical, let’s do the math.   You have a 20 gallon tank.  Let’s take a set rate of $4.oo/gallon for regular and $3.90/gallon for ethanol.  To fill your tank would be $80.00 and $78.00 respectively.  Let us just say you get 18 miles per gallon with regular gasoline and 15 miles per gallon with Ethanol.  So, simple math would tell us you can go 360 miles on regular gas, and 300 miles on Ethanol.  So, basically, for an extra two dollars, you can get an extra 60 miles on your tank.  I would tend to agree with you, that Ethanol or at least E-10 is a bit misleading.    When it comes down to it, that extra ten cents per gallon numerically seems to be worth it.

Thanks again SB, and keep your comments coming.

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