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Gas, or CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), is an alternative fuel in the united states. But that's not the case otherwise. In Thailand, Argentina or Italy, it is a very popular fuel, not far from being mainstream, with hundreds of thousands of drivers utilizing it everyday. CNG is also on the rise in Germany, Switzerland and Malaysia.

If the Usa follow these examples? Before giving an answer, we must weigh the pros and cons of natural gas like a fuel.

The very first advantage is the fact that natural gas is readily available everywhere in the world, and that reserves are all around. Everybody's referring to peak oil, but that has ever heard about peak gas? There's also a strategic issue here, as oil is often imported from unfriendly countries, whereas natural gas can be pumped in the heartland of America. It's a lesser point in Europe, as the choice between oil from the Middle-East and gas from Russia is not a simple one.

Second, gas is cleaner burning than gasoline or diesel. There's a smaller amount toxic emissions, and that's why the EPA rates CNG cars so highly. If quality of air is an issue, CNG is the top choice, and nobody can argue against that. Natural gas is also much better than regular fuels with regards to greenhouse gases emissions. We can provide a few numbers here. A gross estimate is whenever a gasoline engine is transformed into natural gas, with that new fuel, oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions are down by around two-thirds, and CO2 emissions are reduced by close to a fifth. These are substantial improvements!

Third, about any gasoline car can be converted to CNG. All that is required are new injectors, new fuel lines going to a new gas container, and new software for that engine electronics controls. Some professionals advertise that they can convert almost any car in a single day's work.

Fourth, there's a cost advantage as about nearly everywhere in the world, natural gas is less taxed than gasoline. Filling the tank is cheaper, and price per mile is down. However the downsides will never be far, using the first one being you need to refill more regularly. This is a problematic issue: natural gas a really low energy density. That's why it's compressed. CNG tanks holds gas at a 200 or 350-bar pressure (5000-psi), but even at 350-bar, a CNG container has to be 3-times as large as a gasoline tank to hold the same energy.

Usually, it's not the case. So cars running on gas have a shorter range than their gasoline counterparts, along with a much reduced trunk since the CNG container has to be somewhere. It adds weight too, because it must withstand the pressure, meaning it must built from heavy steel. In the future, the chances are CNG tanks will be created using composite materials, that are very tough but light, however these are very expensive.

Handling of natural gas can also be less friendly at the pump. Make sure the bond is leak proof, and also the flow is slower than gasoline. You refill in 5-minutes rather than 3. Another problem comes when you start the car. If you happen to possess a bivalent vehicle, or dual-fuel with the ability to run either on gasoline or CNG, you will observe immediately that power is down using the gaseous fuel. The main difference is often as high as 25%!

In case your car is slow running on gasoline, don't ever think of having it converted to CNG. Last but not the least problem, alternative fuel stations are few and far between. If you don't reside in a big city, there might 't be a station selling gas anywhere near to you. You may have gas at your home, but house outlets would be way too promising small to fill the container of a car. If you don't don't mind 12-hour long refills, that is not an option.

All of this leads us towards the conclusion that CNG might not be the great solution its partisans would like us to think. But there may a method to unite the advantages of gas with those of regular gasoline. It isn't brain surgery, it is something that the oil industry knows how to do, we have to convert natural gas right into a liquid fuel. That's called GTL (Gas-To-Liquid).

Shell has already been doing the work within their huge Pearl project in Qatar. No car needs to be modified, because the new fuel has got the same qualities of standard gasoline, and also the formerly gaseous fuel could be sold at any normal pump, in every gas station in the country. All the investment needed is at the refinery. The good points of CNG are retained, it's a greener fuel than normal gasoline, so that as easy to handle normally gasoline.

So now, we can see who are those who wants Americans to transform their cars to CNG. They are the individuals who wants the fundamental drivers to make investments, but who don't need to make any investment themselves, in producing a fuel drivers would be available immediately.