A 'natural' solution for transportation

Argonne National Laboratory
Feb 2, 2012

Researchers at Argonne have begun to investigate adding one more contender to the list of possible energy sources for light-duty cars and trucks: compressed natural gas (CNG). Image courtesy of Mercedes Benz

As the United States transitions away from a primarily petroleum-based transportation industry, a number of different alternative fuel sources—ethanol, biodiesel, electricity and hydrogen—have each shown their own promise. Hoping to expand the pool even further, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have begun to investigate adding one more contender to the list of possible energy sources for light-duty cars and trucks: compressed natural gas (CNG).

Compressed natural gas is composed primarily of methane, which when compressed occupies less than one percent of the volume it occupies at standard pressure. CNG is typically stored in cylindrical tanks that would be carried onboard the vehicles it fuels.

Because the domestic production of natural gas has increased dramatically over the past ten years, making a large number of the cars and light trucks currently on the road CNG-compatible would help to improve U.S. energy security. "As a country, we don't lack for natural gas deposits," said Argonne mechanical engineer Thomas Wallner. "There are fewer obvious challenges with direct supply than with most other fuels."

Natural gas currently comes primarily from deep underground rock structures, including shale. Recent improvements with hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," a controversial process that some critics claim can hurt the environment, have made it economical for natural gas companies to extract a greater supply of natural gas from unconventional sources.

Like gasoline, both the production and combustion of CNG release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. To be able to make an accurate comparison to gasoline, scientists and engineers will need to look at each stage of the fuel's production and use, said Argonne environmental scientist Andrew Burnham.
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