Compressed Natural Gas for vehicles

Does anyone know if these gas companies and subcontractors use any compressed natural gas vehicles or do they just fill up with foreign diesel fuel?  US has Boon Pickens and corporations asking for governmental support and funding for CNG, one has to ask where the leadership is on this topic.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Moore on May 15, 2012 at 9:47am

Finnbear,

If you where getting royalties off of the well it will be easy to know how many GGE's would be available to put into your car.  Each MCF = a little over 6 gallons of gas equivilant.

Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on May 15, 2012 at 10:55am

RE: "I am in the process of buying the well that heats my house."

A brief note of caution concerning well abandonment costs.

Once you own the well, you will be responsible for the ultimate costs of Plugging and Abandonment (P&A).

Not my area of expertise, but I believe that P&A for a shallow well can be of the order of $20,000 -$30,000.

Again not my area of expertise; which State you reside in determines the specifics - in some States there is a requirement that the O & G Operator escrow monies for the ultimate P&A costs; in other States, the O & G Operator may have to post a Bond.

Once you purchase the well, you will become the well operator - and thus subject to the appropriate laws of your respective State.

You may wish to contact the respective State authority such that you have a priori knowledge of the rules to which you will be expected to abide.

It is possible that you may be able to obtain control of the Escrow Account which contains monies set aside for abandonment.

All IMHO as I am no expert in the above matters,

                                                                            JS

 

Permalink Reply by time will tell on May 15, 2012 at 11:13am

In Ohio  the well owner is required to carry surety bond of  $15000.00 to guarantee that the plugging cost is covered . I threw my insurance co. pay 150.00 per year that guarantee's this . In the event that one would need to plug a well you would be responsible for the 15000.00 .

The state doesn't put much pressure on the owner unless they try to abandon the well . 

The term then is a orphan well .

Permalink Reply by familyman on May 16, 2012 at 9:10am

Hi finnbear,

we offer home n fleet stations for refueling. There are certain caveats that must be addressed before attempting to use a compressor on well gas. Not all components in straight well gas are suitable for such high compression. As an example, hyfrogen sulfide is extremely corrosive, and so slightly different materials are required for the compressor. In addition butane and propane don't compress well, and therefore are hard on compressors. We have available from one of the compressor companies, software to determine suitability, and we can offer that no problem, you would require a gas analysis of course. The cheap systems start around 5000 dollars, i consider them hobby compressors, and ours start at around ten thousand and go up. Hope this has been some help, and you can email me separately at any time.

Permalink Reply by time will tell on May 16, 2012 at 1:48pm

Familyman , what is your thoughts on powering other equipment on NG like mowers or tractors and maybe atv's ? 

The wells I own are powered by NG pump o matic  honda motors and they are sweet . 

This lets me run my wells without the need of electric and up to 5 times a day . 

The unit is equipped with a programmable timer that lets me choice the times  day or night and the day's of operation .

Permalink Reply by familyman on May 16, 2012 at 2:20pm

awesome. I have to take an official position that all systems that modify air emissions must be EPA/CARB approved. That said and done, i wish they would relax the rules for certification, as far as testing, and make this alot more affordable. It sounds like a sweet set up.  I have received alot of calls from farmers, and i am trying to find if there are any ways to help them. I am all ears.

Permalink Reply by time will tell on May 16, 2012 at 2:41pm

What kind of questions are they asking , the farmers that is Family .

Permalink Reply by time will tell on May 16, 2012 at 2:45pm

I am looking into a NG generator to supply my power needs at the farm . I have a home that I built there for a getta away or  who knows a possible place to live if times get rough due to uncontrollable circumstance . I would like to install a liquid cool generator . Have you had much to do with them Family ?

Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on May 16, 2012 at 3:16pm

A possible alternative to a NG powered generator would be a NG powered residential Fuel Cell - no noise, no moving parts (and it produces heat for hot water and space heating).

http://mapawatt.com/2010/02/02/residential-natural-gas-fuel-cells/

 

JS

 

 

Permalink Reply by time will tell on May 16, 2012 at 11:51pm

Jack , thanks for the link , it looks interesting . 

I was lost when I saw the mention of All Gore but I guess you have to eat your veggies to get a treat .

I see it might be a issue if one uses untreated gas .

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on May 24, 2012 at 1:18am
Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on May 23, 2012 at 4:14pm

WSJ: Natural Gas Filling Stations: Few And Far Between

  

Published: May 23, 2012

By Rebecca Smith Of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

It's the chicken and egg problem for alternative-fuel vehicles: Will there be enough public refueling stations to justify buying the vehicles?
For long distance trips, the answer currently is no for natural gas vehicles.
Only 992 U.S. refueling stations pump compressed natural gas, compared with about 120,000 that dispense gasoline or diesel. And many of those CNG stations only service private fleets. Liquefied natural gas stations are practically nonexistent outside of California, which has 35 of the 47 total U.S. stations, according to the Department of Energy.
Efforts are under way to boost the number. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. just struck a deal with Pilot Flying J, one of the biggest operators of truck stops in the U.S., to install LNG or CNG pumps at 150 of 450 locations in the next two years. Clean Energy already operates the largest U.S. network of refueling stations, with 273 locations that serve 25,000 natural gas vehicles.
(This story and related background material will be available on The Wall Street Journal website, WSJ.com.)
"You don't need thousands of stations--you need hundreds in the right places and you can cover the majority of trucks," says Andrew Littlefair, chief executive of Clean Energy.
Its idea is to create refueling stations along major truck corridors, one region at a time. The goal is to give truckers locations at which they can refuel every 250 miles. One such LNG corridor now links Long Beach, Calif., to Salt Lake City. Other companies, including gas utilities, also are building refueling stations, hoping to cultivate a new market for natural gas, amid falling sales of the fuel to homes, due to efficiency gains in appliances.
Utility owner Questar Corp. is building and refurbishing CNG stations along Interstate 15 in Utah, including some with a "fast fill" capability that can pump the equivalent of eight gallons in less than three minutes. Two-hose islands cost $500,000 to $1 million, mostly due to the cost of compressors and high-pressure holding tanks.
Clark Taylor manages about 60 charter buses and airport vans in Utah that drive 11,000 miles each day. He converted a few vehicles to compressed natural gas a decade ago, taking advantage of a nearby refueling point and now wants to convert the rest of the fleet at Salt Lake Express. He figures the shuttle service could save as much as $500,000 a year, because CNG sells for about $1.50 a gallon in his area, or less than half as much as $3.79 diesel.
"The technology is there," he says. "We just have to use it."
-By Rebecca Smith, The Wall Street Journal

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