Fuel Station in Egypt - File Photo
CAIRO – 10 December 2020: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi urged allocating an appropriate financial incentive to citizens willing to replace their shabby cars with new ones with bi-fuel system (gasoline and natural gas).
The step comes as part of a national program the president announced earlier this year in this regard. The program’s first phase aims to replace 250,000 old private cars, taxis and microbuses and replace them with new ones running on natural gas.
The conversion will allow car owners to decrease their spending on gasoline. It will also help the state save hard currency, reduce pollution and save other fuel sources for petrochemicals industry.
In a meeting on Thursday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Central Bank Governor Tarek Amer, Minister of Petroleum Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maeet, Minister of Industry Nevin Gamea, Sisi reviewed the executive steps to implement this national program.
El-Sisi ordered organizing a comprehensive exhibition to support the national program in this regard and inviting big international companies manufacturing cars.
The exhibition will also receive requests from car owners willing to convert their cars to run on natural gas or other owners who want to replace their old cars. It will also show the latest technical developments related to the program.
In an interview with 90 Minutes program on Al-Mihwar channel earlier this year, Industry Minister Gamea said fueling cars with natural gas will reduce the cost to half for car owners. She also denied reports that converting cars to operate on gas harm their engines.
Former Petroleum Minister Osama Kamal said the conversion process will help the state save hard currency, reduce pollution and save other fuel sources for petrochemicals industry.
However, Dhruv Narayan Kaushik, an Indian B-tech Automobile Engineering graduate, argues that using Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in cars is a "double-edged sword."
Kaushik said that CNG has better fuel consumption, as its gaseous nature efficiently mixes with air, and therefore better thermal efficiency can be achieved. He added that the better combustion of natural gas leads to unburned hydrocarbons in the exhaust.
However, he said that the better thermal efficiency of natural gas means higher temperature after combustion, causing the formation of Nitrogen Oxises (NOx), which pollutes environment.
Kaushik said that higher temperature can also reduce the life span of the parts in the cylinder block. Unlike Petrol and Diesel, natural gas does not have a lubrication effect inside the combustion chamber aiding in the piston movement, he added.
However, some people argue that modern engines have hardened valve seats so they don't suffer side effects of using CNG.
Know full details of the national program to convert gasoline-powered cars to natural gas.
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