City gas distribution and CNG
- August 5, 2020
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
No Comments
Subject: Economy
Context:
Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) set to notify regulations to allow competition for city gas distribution companies
Concept:
CNG Vs H-CNG
- CNG is compressed natural gas. With natural gas mainly composed of methane, CNG emits less air pollutants — carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter — than petrol or diesel.
- Environmental Benefits: No impurities, No Sulphur (S), No lead (Pb) and Very low levels of polluting gaseous emissions without smell and dust. Molecular structure compactness prevents the reactive processes which lead to the formation of Ozone (O3) in the troposphere
- Safety Benefits: Lighter than air – in case of leak no dangerous puddles Unlikely to ignite due to: High ignition temperature, Narrow range of ignition
- H-CNG is a blend of hydrogen and CNG, the ideal hydrogen concentration being 18%. Compared to conventional CNG, use of H-CNG can reduce emission of carbon monoxide up to 70%, besides enabling up to 5% savings in fuel.
- While recommending the use of H-CNG as an alternative fuel, the NITI Aayog-CII Action Plan for Clean Fuel notes that physical blending of CNG and hydrogen involves a series of energy-intensive steps that would make H-CNG more expensive than CNG.
City gas distribution network
- Purpose for development of CGD networks is to increase the availability of cleaner cooking fuel (i.e. Piped Natural Gas) and transportation fuel(i.e. Compressed Natural Gas) in the country.
- The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) authorizes entities to develop Natural Gas Distribution Network as per PNGRB Act, 2006 and the Regulations notified thereunder. PNGRB identifies the Geographical Areas (GAs) for the development of City Gas Distribution (CGD) network depending on the natural gas pipeline connectivity/natural gas availability and techno-commercial viability