Smart mobility - is natural gas a game changer or a fairly tale in case

of reduction of CO2 emissions caused by transport?

Michal Sura michsoora@gmail.com

The problem of global warming requires solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The transport sector generates 25% of total greenhouse gas emissions, and it is the
second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after the energy sector (1). In order
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is necessary to start to use zero-emission
vehicles or some low-emission vehicles at least. It seems that compressed natural gas
(CNG) vehicles that operate much as gasoline-powered vehicles with spark-ignited
internal combustion engines would be good candidates to reduce a carbon footprint
caused by transport. We will try to find if CNG vehicles would really lower greenhouse
gas emissions in the following analysis.

The CNG vehicle is considered an alternative fuel vehicle that uses compressed
natural gas (CNG) as a source of energy for its movement.
We can see in the picture below the typical CNG vehicle where CNG tanks are
located below the floor.

Compressed natural gas is stored at high pressure (21 to 25 MPa) gaseous state
in CNG tanks. From manufacturers' data, it was found that steel fuel tanks for CNG
vehicles weigh about 1 kg per litre of tank volume. With a tank volume of 160 liters, this
adds approx. 160 kg. Another 15 kg is added for the equipment.
 Natural gas is a hydrocarbon mixture consisting primarily of methane (94-95%)
and ethane (3-4%), both of which are gaseous under atmospheric conditions. The
mixture may also contain other hydrocarbons, such as propane (0.2-0.7%), butane,
pentane, and hexane. As we can see, natural gas consists mainly of methane (CH4),
which has higher energy content relative to other fuel components, and it has a
relatively lower CO2 emissions to its energy content. Let’s be generous and suppose
that natural gas consists only of methane.
There is released 2.75 kg of CO2 after burning 1 km of methane. Just for a
comparison, there is released 2.64 kg CO2 after burning 1 liter of diesel and 2.392 kg
CO2 after burning 1 liter of gasoline (2).
Well-to-wheels (WTW) efficiency of gasoline internal combustion engine vehicle
ranges between 11-27 %, diesel internal combustion engine vehicle ranges from 25 %
to 37 % and CNG vehicle ranges from 12% to 22 % (3). We can see that CNG vehicles
are slightly less efficient than gasoline internal combustion engine vehicles.
We will try to find out the real world CO2 emissions of CNG vehicle using
parameters of Mercedes-Benz B 180 NGT. The abbreviation "NGT" stands for Natural
Gas Technology. Daimler-Benz is very trustworthy company which was not affected by
any “Dieselgate” scandals.

Mercedes-Benz B 180 NGT generates an output of 85 kW (116 hp) in both

natural gas and petrol operation. Given a combined NEDC fuel consumption of 7.3 l of
premium petrol and 4.9 kg of natural gas per 100 kilometres. The extra weight of the B
180 NGT versus the B 180 (gasoline) is only 120 kg thanks to the use of lightweight gas
tanks of composite material instead of conventional steel tanks. (4)
 The value of CO2 emissions in the “natural gas” mode is 4.9x2.75/100 = 134.75
g CO2/km. Daimler-Benz claimed the CO2 emissions of 135 g/km are 17% lower than
those of the B 180 with a petrol engine. The emissions calculated by us corresponded
to the emissions given by the manufacturer.
The value of CO2 emissions in the “gasoline” mode is 7.3x2.392/100 = 174.615 g
CO2/kg. But there is added weight of 120 kg (lightweight gas tanks of composite
material), and each weight increase of 100 kg can increase the consumption of gasoline
by 0.4 l/100 km. The CO2 emissions in “gasoline” mode were 23% higher than in
“natural gas” mode.
We found parameters of a similar gasoline model Mercedes-Benz B 180 (5) with
a little bit stronger engine (90 kW) and the fuel combined consumption 5.6-5.8 l/100 km
and we calculated that CO2 emissions are 134-139 g CO2/km.
We found that CO2 emissions of Mercedes-Benz B 180 NGT (85 kW) in “natural
gas” mode were 134.75 g and CO2 emissions of gasoline Mercedes-Benz B 180 (90
kW) were 134-139 g CO2/km. We can see that CO2 emissions are practically the same
and not 17% lower than those of the B 180 with a petrol engine as was claimed by
Daimler-Benz!
VW announced that they will stop to develop any new CNG vehicle models.
Instead, VW will focus on full-electric cars. CNG vehicles had very little impact on the
average CO2 emissions (even if they have any) of the new-vehicle company’s fleet to
achieve Euro 6 standard. Daimler AG is quitting the development of natural-gas
powered truck in 2019.
CNG vehicles are quite popular in some countries where the CNG price is
cheaper than diesel or gasoline, and they are operated not because they are cleaner
but because they are cheaper to operate.
It is obvious that CNG vehicles are not a clean solution for transport at all. Their
CO2 emissions are similar to or the same as the emissions of gasoline/diesel vehicles.
Natural gas is not any eco-friendly blue fuel, but it is still a fossil fuel that has its CO2
emissions. Natural gas is definitely not a game changer in the case of reducing fossil
CO2 emissions produced by transport.

1, https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/21/9152
2, https://ecoscore.be/en/info/ecoscore/co2
3,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344860096_Comparison_of_the_Overall_Energy_Eff
iciency_for_Internal_Combustion_Engine_Vehicles_and_Electric_Vehicles
4, shorturl.at/hkmwO
5, https://www.auto-data.net/en/mercedes-benz-b-class-w246-facelift-2014-b-180-122hp-20847