compressed gas conversion for diesel engine

[Gary Fowler]

That was my point exactly, trying to carry all that compressed gas to run an engine. It would have to be really high pressure on a full tank to be able to get any volume at all. Take a 240 cu ft compressed gas tank that is over 5 feet high and 8" in diameter (approx. dont need someone to look it up and post figures that is if 59" tall etc). Anyway those tanks are quite heavy and to get any range at all would require lots of them even at 70/30 split, you are talking liquid vs vapor ratio.
Liquid storage would be the only way to go on that. As for problematic, shouldnt be any different that storing liquid oxygen, argon, nitrogen. Any pressure releases just route them to a stack above the truck and it floats away due to lighter than air weight.
We have over abundance of natural gas but no good way to use it in vehicles without converting it.
The best way as far as user convenience would be to convert it to diesel and then just pump it in the tank of any diesel vehicle. You would still have the same CO and gases released via standard diesel engines when doing that. I guess the whole thing is trying to decrease air pollution but they are going about it bassakwards.

 

[TCowner]

The move to compressed natural gas is moving ahead in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Kwik Trip, which is large operator in the fuel/convenience store business, is now to going to offer CNG at three of their stations. They also are converting their own fleet of trucks to CNG.

There is is a lot of information on the cngnow.com website about their plans.

 

[timster2]

Running trucks on CNG is not new, its been around for more than twenty years. The technology for fuel management is getting better. Engine manufacturers are working hard to make this a real world option. The problem lies in fuel storage. Payload and volume are sacrificed to carry enough fuel to be practical for over the road applications. Fleets that go short distances and return to the same place every night are ideal. Things like delivery trucks, school buses, transit buses, trash trucks are all good candidates. Now that lots of natural gas has been found here there is a renewed interest switching to CNG as a motor fuel.

 

[Ken]

Thanks for all the replys Think will use the metal tool box for cash for the diesel on longer trips.
Cost of conversion and then no real improvement in mileage .
Reason was asking I see several types of cars and SUV's some Dodge trucks with sign on rear that there using CNG fuel for there power .
This last trip with load of cattle and fuel in the 4 buck + area customers kind of got there hackles up at the hauling charge. Even explaining only the first loaded costs the money all others ride free wasn't good advice.
Will keep looking but not willing to yank out the cummons for a gasser either.
ken

 

[PoorMansCat]

We have been testing something similar on Cat Frac engines here in Texas.... This is also being used on diesel-electric rigs... Typically, they are plumbing into wellhead gas from a nearby site.. Usually just runs thru a filtering system and into a fuel header, then up to the engines...
The engine ECM still fires the injectors on diesel... just a smaller quantity as the NG is being bled in... In some applications, the compressor wheel on the turbos is acutally used as the mixer to blend the air/fuel. Advantages to this setup include a major fuel savings since diesel is 3.50 or more a gallon at bulk prices where the n.g. is free. This setup also helps with the emissions output...
Chesapeake Energy, JW Operating, and several others are now driving natural gas powered 1/2 ton trucks... with the new emissions diesels getting horrible fuel mileage, something like this could be made into a viable option with enough R&D..