CNG vs propane

Compress natural gas and propane are the next on our list for alternative fuels. As the world tries to find a new way of powering our vehicles more interesting and out of the box ideas come into play. Compress natural gas is a gas primarily produced from methane, but it also included some other chemical in its composition such as hydrocarbons. The gas is non-toxic to humans as well as odorless. But besides using it to power vehicles it’s also used for homes, business, industrial use, and to create power. “Although natural gas is a clean-burning alternative fuel that has long been used to power natural gas vehicles, only about one-tenth of 1% is used for transportation fuel.” (Center, Natural Gas, 2006) Propane on the other hand has been used for quite a while and has many good characteristics too. It’s been use previously to power light, medium, and heavy duty truck. “Propane is a three-carbon alkane gas (C3H8).” (Center, Propane , 2012) And just like compressed natural gas it is colorless and odorless, but only when stored under pressure. These two are almost alike but since their properties are different the properties are what’s going to make or break them in being the better of the two alternative fuel.

And while these two fuels have been used very little before by the automotive industry. The recent government mandate of having vehicles to be at least 54 mpg by 2025 has made the automotive industry rethink that maybe compress natural gas and propane could be the way. And the demand for it has grown. I mean it’s used for homes and power why not try to put the effort into actually making it work for automobiles as well. This paper will cover both pros and cons of compressed natural gas and propane and how well it would do in ...

... middle of paper ...

...hemselves up as to being an alternative fuel I would go with compress natural gas out of the two. The reason why is because it isn’t as dangerous as propane, it’s a bit safer to handle. It can also be created out of the waste we produce, so as long as there’s waste we have methane to produce natural gas. Now it isn’t the same a gasoline because we would have to manufacture a tank big enough and safe enough to withstand the pressure in case of an accident. So like I as said before it’s not as good as gasoline but in time it could be.

Works Cited

Center, A. F. (2006, June 02). Natural Gas. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Energy: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/natural_gas.html

Center, A. F. (2012, January 30). Propane . Retrieved from U.S. Department of Energy : http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/propane.html

Engish, P. (2014). Gasseous Fuels 14. Big Rapids, MI.