Plot to push CNG use in Trinidad and Tobago July 10 th 2003

In the 2003 Budget speech, I heard of the Prime Minister’s decision to remove the use of leaded fuel from filling stations. This is great news. Since 1990, I have written several research articles and educational television scripts explaining the dangers of using leaded gasoline in Trinidad. A good first step was the introduction of unleaded gasoline (the lesser of two evils). There are still health and environmental problems associated with unleaded gasoline so I am very curious to find out what the government plans to use as a replacement for leaded gasoline. It is with great interest that I learnt of a plan by a conglomerate to push for the use of CNG in all vehicles on the island. A bigwig with that conglomerate is presently in Italy working out the details with CNG magnates in that country. Some of the advantages that will be highlighted to the unsuspecting public and government officials include:

Lower Emissions In a CNG-powered car, it has been found that pollution levels of Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Hydrocarbons (HC) fall by 97 percent and 11 percent respectively.

Low Costs CNG fuel costs almost 30 percent less than petrol, with 1kg of CNG producing energy equivalent to 1.3 litres of petrol.

Safety Since CNG is lighter than air, it dissipates quickly into the atmosphere rather than forming hazardous pools, as liquid fuels do. Also, CNG ignites at much higher temperature than gasoline, making inadvertent ignition less likely. The CNG cylinders are made from 1/2" to 3/4" aluminium or steel and are much safer than conventional petrol tanks, which are made of thin sheet metal.

Fuel economy CNG has been found to yield a five percent improvement in fuel economy, as compared to petrol, resulting in lower fuel costs and reduction in toxic emissions.

Lower maintenance cost As CNG burns very cleanly, spark plugs and lubricants require fewer changes and tune-ups aren't needed as often. Engines burning CNG will last two to three times longer than those using petrol. Also, since CNG does not contain any lead, spark plug fouling is completely eliminated.

Have they got your interest? Of course, everyone is concerned about reducing emissions and protecting the environment as well as keeping money in their pockets by lower CNG costs and lower vehicle maintenance costs. So what is wrong with this plan?

A pilot program to establish CNG use in Dhaka started in the early 1980s, but gas shortages as well as lack of maintenance and service support have hindered its adoption. How would these be dealt with in Trinidad?
Risks of accidents at storage and distribution points are very serious and there have been numerous reports on the prevention of fire hazards with gaseous petroleum fuels. Unlike liquid fuels, gaseous petroleum fuels, including the CNG, the leakage is in a gaseous state and they readily form mixture within dangerous inflammable range. Extra precautions during handling and storage are mandatory. How would this be dealt with in Trinidad?
You are probably saying that there are more advantages for use of CNG than disadvantages? Well let’s investigate further.
It must be questioned as to why no country has ever made a large-scale conversion to CNG. New York has less than 5% CNG motors and less than 2% of the 4000 strong-fleet in Paris use CNG. Trials conducted by the London Transport Board and New York Transit showed that vehicles using ULSD (ultra-low-sulfur diesel) emitted very low pollutants except nitrogen oxides. Many Western European countries have already committed to ULSD. It has captured nearly 100% of the Scandinavian market by 2001/2002. UK is expected to follow suit. Even after being operational, CNG buses will continue to run higher fuel bills at Rs. 4.40 per km. compared to Rs. 2.20 for ULDS, the difference translates to paying 82 crores extra for CNG. Also around 100 fuelling points would be needed for 10000 CNG buses, though as yet only 12 have come up. Total cost of fuel for these buses come upto Rs. 250 crores for the CNG, while the same for ULDS will be at least 100 crores cheaper.
In addition, the price of CNG will not remained stable. Remember the law of supply and demand. In Bangladesh, the government plans to increase the fuel price for the CNG-driven vehicles.
In a Master of Science thesis by B. Abbanath in 1996 for California State University, CNG vehicle owners expressed significant dissatisfaction with the CNG refuelling network and the driving range of CNG vehicles.

In addition, Dhaka has abandoned its CNG experiment and has moved toward the use of fuel-cell buses routed through the United Nations Development Project (UNDP). These are zero-emission vehicles the Union ministry of non-conventional energy sources also hopes to develop within the country - and even try to put its own versions on the road in a few years.
There are many alternative energy resources available:
As legislated by the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) currently recognizes the following as alternative fuels:
· Alcohols: ethanol and methanol
· Compressed natural gas (CNG): natural gas under high pressure
· Electricity: stored in batteries for use by electric motors
· Hydrogen: a clean-burning type of gas
· Liquefied natural gas (LNG): natural gas that is kept very cold, compressed to a liquid
· Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG, also known as "propane"): hydrocarbon gases kept under low moderate pressure as a liquid
· Liquids made from coal: gasoline and diesel fuel that are not made from petroleum
· Biodiesel: a biodegradable transportation fuel for use in diesel engines that is produced from similar to diesel fuel, but made from plant oils, or animal fats, or agricultural by-products (often blended with conventional diesel fuel)
So why then is there a push to use CNG in Trinidad? Keep in mind that most environmentally conscious and economically conscious places have already introduced plans to use hydrogen fuel cells in all vehicles by the next ten years. Why have they bypassed CNG as their choice of an alternative fuel? Maybe they do not have the ready supply of natural gas that exists in Trinidad? There is much more involved than that. This is an attempt by one conglomerate to control not only the type of fuel used so that they will be the only company that can set up and maintain CNG refilling stations but also, vehicles will have to be converted by replacing the standard gas tank with a pressurized CNG tank and a fuel regulator attached to the gasoline engine. How much would this company charge vehicle owners for this conversion. Also, since this conglomerate also assembles vehicles, it will be a simple process to supply a vehicle with factory installed CNG system. How much more will this vehicle cost the buyer?
This plan (plot) is simply a method to legally steal hard earned dollars from the Trinidad people. The bottom line is that conversion to CNG is outdated. The use of CNG as a fuel of the future is not a consideration. The fuel of the future is in fuel cells running on hydrogen derived from a renewable source that will emit nothing but water vapour. Imagine, zero pollutants! All the major automotive manufacturers have a fuel cell vehicle either in development or in testing right now — Honda, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, GM, Ford, Hyundai, Volkswagen — you name it. The fuel cell vehicle will be commercialized towards the end of 2004. Why then, is this conglomerate planning to waste time and money starting a CNG program at this time in Trinidad.

Steven A. White