Advantages and Disadvantages of Natural Gas Vehicles
Depending on who you ask, the world's supply of oil is either quite plentiful or on borrowed time. Ironically, nobody in the US gave such an idea much thought until nearly 40 years ago when an Arab embargo resulted in long lines at gas stations, skyrocketing prices, and for all intents and purposes, a new concept of conservation. This not only referred to saving precious oil, but also the environment from the onslaught of hydrocarbons into the planet's atmosphere. A key element to this then relatively-new school of thought involved thoughts of powering the world's vehicles by alternative means.
Since that time, gasoline prices continue to increase, and indeed, vehicles powered by fuels other than gas or diesel are on the rise. These have included all-electric, part-time electric (such as hybrids), and natural gas. Currently, natural gas is the most practical of these alternate choices, but it's important to be aware of this fuel'sadvantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
Vehicles propelled by natural gas are much cleaner-burning than their conventional gasoline or diesel-powered counterparts. While natural gas does contain a few potential contaminants to the atmosphere, these pale in comparison to the stuff that's emitted from cars and trucks that run on gas or diesel. Natural gas also produces some 45% less carbon dioxide than coal, the chief source of fuel used in transportation in the days before the internal combustion engine.
Natural gas is less-expensive than conventional fuel, and many city governments have switched to natural gas-powered municipal and utility vehicles, such as garbage trucks, street cleaners, public buses, and vehicles used for other purposes. Many companies that own fleet vehicles have also made the switch to natural gas and have realized lower operating expenses.
Natural gas is in abundant supply. Practically all of this fuel used by those in North America is available in the US and Canada, and thus being at the mercy of countries located in a volatile, unstable part of the world is greatly minimized. Moreover, it is estimated that even with an ever-increasing number of cars and trucks on the road, there is at least 100 years' worth of natural gas just waiting to be tapped on this continent alone.
Natural gas vehicles aresaferand less prone to tank ruptures due to thicker construction.
Vehicles powered by natural gas have lower maintenance costs. As mentioned above, this fuel burns more cleanly, which equates to less wear and tear on engine parts. As a result, tuneups and oil changes can be performed less frequently than conventional gasoline vehicles.
Disadvantages
The storage tanks needed to house natural gas are big and bulky. This in turn compromises useable interior and/or trunk space. The cylinders used in the construction of these tanks are also expensive to build and this adds more money to the vehicle's initial sticker price.
Natural gas vehicles only have about half of the driving range of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles, which means more stops to re-fuel. To make matters worse, natural gas refilling stations are currently few and far between. Running out of fuel 40 or 50 miles away from the nearest natural gas station would not prove to be an enjoyable experience, to say the least.Refuelingcan be done in one of two ways. The fast-fill isn't an issue unless the nearest natural gas station is located far from your home. At such a station, the time needed to "fill up" is about the same as with a regular gas car. Additionally, a timed refueling can be done with a home unit for convenience, but there's a catch: it's as slow as molasses, along the lines of a little less than half a gallon per hour! So if one forgot to add fuel to the car before bedtime, guess what?
The costs of the fuel may be lower, but that doesn't mean that those in charge of pump prices wouldn't be greedy, especially in this day when stations are still scarce. Also, even with an estimated 30-35% better fuel economy over their gasoline counterparts, this would likely be offset by a much higher sticker price for the vehicle itself. Look at the cost of hybrids, or even for that matter, models that offer a diesel option. The point here? They're likely to get you coming or going..........
In theory, the idea of natural gas cars isn't a bad one, save for the fact that even this fuel's availability is finite as well and would thus only serve as a temporary fix. A century, give or take, may seem like a long ways off, but the world's useable supply of natural gas could already be depleted by the time your great-grandchildren are of driving age. Regardless of what powers the cars of 2112 and beyond, there will likely be some issues that need resolution. Then again, that holds true for just about everything.
