A Primer on Natural Gas Fueling

Here are several key terms to kinow when discussing natural gas fueling. Understanding them will help anyone sound like a pro when discussing natural gas including:

Fuel Types

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)

• The vehicle fuel tank is a high pressure (3,600 psi) cylinder.
• A CNG vehicle gets about the same performance as a gasoline vehicle with only a slightly lower gasoline gallon equivalent (GGE).
• CNG is used in light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle applications.

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

• Produced by super-cooling natural gas to negative 260-degrees Fahrenheit in order to convert it to a liquid. LNG is typically used in heavy-duty truck applications.

Vehicle Types

Dedicated Vehicle

• Designed to run only on natural gas

Bi-fuel Vehicle

• Runs on either natural gas or gasoline, with two separate fueling systems connected the same internal combustion engine.

CNG Infrastructure Types

Fast-fill

• Drivers can fill up in the same amount of time as a gasoline vehicle.
• Best suited for retail stations, where vehicles arrive in need of a quick fill, and CNG can be dispensed alongside gasoline.

Time-fill

• May take many hours to fill up; the time depends on the number of vehicles fueling, compressor size, and storage.
• Typically used for fleets with central refueling locations that allow vehicles to fill up overnight.

To read more about making the switch to natural-gas-fueled vehicles, click here.