Diesel fuel has long been the mainstay of many car engines, but a new fuel is becoming more popular: Natural Gas. It’s cheaper than diesel, cleaner than diesel, and even produces less soot. The best part of all? There are natural gas stations everywhere!
Advantages of Natural Gas
It is likely that Natural Gas will become the primary fuel for cars in the future. Renewable natural gas, or RNG, is made from garbage and agricultural waste, which has begun to be used as a fuel. The process of getting natural gas ready for consumers to use is known as “RNC,” or renewable natural gas conversion.
The benefit of renewable natural gas is that it reduces greenhouse gasses nearly 100% more than traditional fuel. RNG reduces harmful emissions by 99%, compared to just 80% for ethanol. Natural gas also has no sulfur content, which causes acid rain.
Currently, natural gas is available at more than 8,000 filling stations in Europe. Compared to the United States’ 112 stations that offer the fuel, this is a huge advantage for any country looking to switch from gasoline to a cleaner and cheaper fuel.
Natural gas is perhaps the future of car fuels; for the first time in decades diesel sales are declining and production of electric vehicles aren’t selling as well as expected. Automakers are looking for an alternative fuel that can also drive down prices from an expensive oil market.
Natural gas is already used in some cars in the United States. CNG (compressed natural gas) has been used for years by transit and emergency vehicles. Newer models of natural gas vehicles can run on both compressed and liquid forms of the fuel.
Advantages of Diesel Fuel
Diesel engines are extremely efficient when compared to electric and hybrid models. The average diesel engine is 70% more fuel efficient than the average gasoline engine. A diesel engine can produce up to 70 miles per gallon when compared to 50 miles per gallon with a gasoline engine.
The additional cost of using diesel is also lower than using gas, and the fuel allows a car to get higher mileage on less gas. For example, a Volkswagen Jetta TDI with a 2 liter four cylinder diesel engine can produce 107 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque. A Jetta GLS with a four cylinder gas engine can only produce 113 hp and 140 lb-ft of torque.
The Volkswagen Jetta TDI is sold for around $24,000; The Jetta GLS is sold for around $18,000. The TDI car gets 47 mpg in the city and 56 mpg on the highway; the GLS car gets 31 mpg in the city and 38 mpg on the highway. Besides fuel costs, electric cars can cost more to maintain than diesel cars.
Diesel fuel also produces less soot when compared to gasoline in combustion chambers. Engine manufacturers use exhaust after-treatment devices in diesel engines to reduce particulate matter. Particulate matter is created during the combustion process and is a major cause of respiratory problems.
Dirt accumulates on engine parts and causes wear, eventually damaging the engine. This is a huge disadvantage to using electric cars because they cannot be plugged in as often as a diesel car to keep the battery charged; this causes the vehicle to lose power over time.
So what fuel will we use in the future?
It may be a few years before we see a majority of car’s using natural gas as a fuel source, but it shouldn’t take long before we see diesel’s place being replaced by cleaner, cheaper, and easier to obtain energy sources.