State to save $2.2 B if passenger vehicles run on natural gas: Cabinet

CAIRO - 22 August 2019: Cabinet spokesman Nader Saad said on Wednesday that the government aims to convert to clean sources of energy, while a plan has been set to support converting microbuses and minibuses to use natural gas as fuel instead of petrol.

In an interview with Al-Hayah Al-Youm, Saad said that 240,000 vehicles - buses, minibuses and microbuses run on diesel fuel, including 88,000 old ones. Old cars usually tend to cause more pollution.

Saad referred to the environmental pollution caused by these vehicles, saying that the government looks forward to replacing them with others that use natural gas.

He said that diesel oil costs the state $12.5 billion annually, adding that the government can save $2.2 billion in case it managed to replace those 240,000 vehicles.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in January directed encouraging citizens to convert their cars to run with natural gas instead of petrol, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said.

Madbouli affirmed the necessity of harnessing the available resources in the country, referring to converting cars to run on natural gas in view of the great savings this will bring to the state. This is also important in reducing the state's subsidy bill and achieve environmental benefits, Madbouli said, directing increasing natural gas filling stations nationwide.

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.