CNG Implementation in Delhi

Air pollution sources

Contribution of each

How did it got implemented

Problems Faced by People & Govt;

Why still less supply(Huge waiting lines)

Factors which led to Success

Price of cng(Variation) and current

Kit cost

Maintenance cost

Subsidy

Variable cost considered with petrol or diesel

Which company did it?

Buses were supplied from (Ashok Leyland)

What is CNG?
CNG is the short form of Compressed Natural Gas. It is gaseous fuel and is a mixture of
hydrocarbons mainly Methane. For use in Automobiles as fuel, it is compressed to a pressure of
200-250 Kg/cm² to enhance the vehicle on-board storage capacity . In its natural form it is
colourless, odourless, non-toxic and non-carcinogenic. However, this natural gas is mixed with
an odorant to add flavour similar to the odour of LPG from a domestic cylinder so as to
facilitate detection of its leakage. The typical composition and physical properties of CNG (i.e.
Compressed Natural Gas) is as follows:
Typical Composition:
Methane : 88%
Ethane : 5%
Propane : 1%
CO2 : 5%
Others : 1%
Total : 100%

Physical Properties
 Non-toxic – Natural gas being lead/sulphur free, its use substantially reduces harmful
engine emissions. When natural gas burns completely, it gives out carbon dioxide and
water vapour - the very components we give out while breathing!
 Lighter than air – Natural gas being lighter than air, will rise above ground level and
disperse in the atmosphere, in the case of a leakage.
 Colourless – Natural Gas is available in the gaseous state, and is colourless.
 Odourless – The gas in its natural form is odourless, however, ethyl mercaptan is later
added as odorant so as to detect its leakage.

Why CNG
 Test results show that a CNG bus with a three-way catalyst is far ahead of a comparable
diesel bus.
 It meets the Euro IV norms for both PM and NOx.
 Even carbon monoxide emission is better than Euro II norms

Note: All figures in grammes per kilowatt-hour

Source: R.Ramakrishanan 2001, CNG-The Clean and Cost effective Fuel for Delhi Vehicles
  Fuel diversification:
 Reducing emissions of harmful pollutants: Much lower emissions of small PM, and non-
methane HC compared to conventional diesel or Gasoline engine
 Potentially cheap alternative fuel

Delhi’s Air Pollution

Sector Wise Emissions In Delhi
(Metric Tonnes Per Day)

 Most polluted metro in the country

 65% of air pollution from Transport Sector
 Pollutants (RSPM) up to 200 to 300 microgram per cubic meter against permissible
level of 100 micro gram per cubic meter
Source: CPCB,1998

How CNG got Implemented??

Pilot project of GAIL :
Objective: A pilot project was initiated by GAIL (India) Ltd. in collaboration with Indian Institute
of Petroleum, Dehradun to establish the feasibility of using CNG as an alternative to liquid fuels
such as Diesel & Petrol used by buses & automobiles in 3 cities namely Delhi, Mumbai &
Baroda.

POLLUTION REDUCTION IN CNG FUELLED VEHICLES

The use of CNG in vehicles has lead to considerable reduction in air pollution as
is evident from the following data:
A. Autorickshaw – Three wheelers:
(Emission in gram/Km)
Bajaj Three Pollutants Petrol CNG % Reduction
wheeler
HC 3.26 1.26 63.19
CO 5.48 1.57 71.35
CO2 47.44 27.60 41.82
NOx 0.25 0.20 20.00
Source: Bajaj Auto, the manufacturer of three wheelers

B. Passenger Cars:
(Emission in gram/Km)
Pollutants Petrol CNG % Reduction

Maruti Omni CO 19.79 .55 97

HC 1.14 1.02 11
GYPSY CO 4.94 .59 88
HC 1.86 1.42 24
Ambassador CO 52.16 .78 98
HC 6.37 4.33 32
Source: Emission tests conducted by GAIL (India) Ltd., one of the promoter companies
of IGL and the supplier of Natural Gas

C. Diesel Buses:
(Emission in gram/KWH)
Bajaj Three Pollutants Diesel CNG % Reduction
wheeler
Ashok Leyland HC 1.68 1.4 16.67
CO 4.5 3.77 19.37
NOx 13.73 8.0 41.77
Particulate 0.125 0.0029* 97.68
Matter
* In gm / km
Source: Ashok Leyland, the manufacturer of buses

Infrastructure of GAIL under pilot project: 1 Mother station was initially put up at
Ghaziabad which has since been shifted to Sarai Kae Khan. This mother station was feeding to 5
daughter stations in Delhi. 3 online stations were added making total 9 Nos. of CNG stations
during the pilot phase of the project. The station design and safety norms followed were as per
New Zealand standards.

Formation of IGL:
 Supreme Court gave directive to GAIL in July’1998 to expand the CNG infrastructure
and to increase the number of CNG stations from 9 to 80 by March 31, 2000 in Delhi. It
 also directed Delhi Govt. to convert entire city bus fleet, autos & taxies from liquid fuel
to CNG/Clean Fuel.
 Subsequently in Dec.1998 Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) was incorporated as a joint
venture company of GAIL, BPCL & Govt. Of NCT of Delhi to implement the orders of
Hon’ble Supreme Court with regard to the CNG expansion program in Delhi.
 Issues of land allotment: Govt. of NCT of Delhi holding 5% equity in IGL helped IGL in
getting the allotment of lands, permissions for laying pipelines and in getting electricity
connections.
 Uncertainty on vehicles conversion: While IGL was formed to install 80 CNG stations
there was an apprehension whether the DTC buses would be available for CNG usage.
Besides all the autorikshaws, taxis and private buses were also to be converted for CNG
use. Tremendous efforts were required to convince DTC, Bus Operators and Delhi
Administration for the conversion of vehicles to CNG in such a short time. Today there
are more than 87,000 vehicles in the NCT of Delhi, which are running on CNG.
 Some Facts & Figures about IGL
CNG Compression Capacity: 34.43lakh kg/day
No: of stations in Delhi: 203
South Delhi: 43
East Delhi: 15
Central Delhi: 18
North Delhi:22
West Delhi: 28

No: of CNG Vehicles in Delhi: Over 3,50,000 approx.

No: of CNG Busses in Delhi: Over 12,000(Included in Vehicles)
Source:http://www.iglonline.net/Default.aspx

Type of CNG Stations

Four types of CNG stations have been developed in Delhi. These are as follows:
 Mother Station: Mother stations are connected to the pipeline and have high
compression capacity. These stations supply CNG to both vehicles and daughter stations
(through mobile cascades). Typically they have the facility of filling all types of vehicles –
buses/autos/cars. The Mother station requires heavy investment towards compressor,
dispensers, cascades, pipelines, tubing etc.
 Online Station: CNG vehicle storage cylinders need to be filled at a pressure of 200
bars. “On line Stations” are equipped with a compressor of relatively small capacity,
which compresses low pressure pipeline gas to the pressure of 250 bar for dispensing
CNG to the vehicle cylinder. The investment in an online station is midway between
daughter station and mother station
 Daughter Station: The “Daughter Stations” dispense CNG using mobile cascades.
These mobile cascades at daughter stations are replaced when pressure falls and
pressure depleted mobile cascade is refilled at the “Mother Station”. The investment in
a daughter station is least among all types of CNG stations. There is reduction in storage
pressure at daughter stations with each successive filling. Once the storage pressure
drops, the refueling time increases, while the quantity of CNG dispensed to vehicle also
decreases.
  Daughter-Booster Station: Installing a booster compressor can eliminate
drawbacks of daughter stations. The mobile cascade can be connected to the dispensing
system through a booster. Daughter booster (compressor) is designed to take variable
suction pressure and discharge at constant pressure of 200 bars to the vehicle being
filled with CNG. The investment in daughter booster station is slightly higher than that
of daughter station.
 Mega CNG Stations: Mega CNG stations have been conceptualized to cater to a large
fleet of vehicles, particularly the buses. The objective is to provide comfortable filling
experience to the consumers when they come to the station for refueling. Mega CNG
stations are constructed on much larger plot of land than that of conventional CNG
stations, as a result of which more number of Compressors and Dispensers can be
installed and more number of vehicles can be simultaneously refuelled at such stations.
A Mega CNG station has been commissioned at Rohini, Sector 23 on July 13, 2003 and a
similar station has been put into operation at Patparganj on June 30, 2003. The CNG
Mega station at Patpargang has been constructed at a cost of around Rs.13.5 crores
(USD 3 MM) to simultaneously refuel five buses and eight other vehicles (cars, autos,
mini buses etc.). Built on a plot of size 75 m X 40 m, it has the capacity to comfortably
refuel CNG to 800 buses and over 1500 other vehicles daily.

Performance Of CNG
The growth in the CNG infrastructure and the performance of IGL since it’s inception in
December, 1998 is presented in the following bar charts:

Source: Transport Department, Government of Delhi.

Other Vehicles include private cars, taxis, three wheelers, mini buses.
As on December, 2003 the number of vehicles is 87026. ( Buses 9958, others 77068)
 CNG Sales Growth

Technical benefits of CNG

 Very low particulate emissions
 Very low emissions of airborne toxins
 Negligible sulfur-containing emissions
 Quieter operation than diesel
 Less vibrations than diesel
 Less odor than diesel

Disadvantages of CNG
The worst thing about vehicular pollution is that it cannot be avoided as the emissions
are emitted at the near-ground level where we breathe. Pollution from vehicles gets reflected
in increased mortality and morbidity and is revealed through symptoms like cough, headache,
nausea, irritation of eyes, various bronchial problems and visibility. The pollution from vehicles
are due to discharges like CO, unburned HC, Pb compounds, NOx, soot, suspended particulate
matter (SPM) and aldehydes, among others, mainly from the tail pipes.
A recent study reports that in Delhi one out of every 10 school children suffers from asthma
that is worsening due to vehicular pollution
Situation is same in a number of other mega-cities
 Much more expensive fuel distribution and storage
 Suited for fleet vehicles that all “come home”
 Higher vehicle cost, primarily due to higher cost of fuel cylinders
 Shorter driving range
 Problematic for public transport vehicles or if there are few fueling stations
 Heavier fuel tank, reducing fuel economy and leading to greater braking distances
  Potential performance and operational problems compared to liquid fuels
Economies of CNG
 Baseline is gasoline or diesel
 Incremental cost of procuring CNG vehicles must be recovered by lower operating costs
 Maintenance costs can be higher
o Lower fuel cost (fuel price + cost recovery for refueling stations) critical to
making CNG economic
 Suited especially for regions importing gasoline and diesel, or where natural gas is very
cheap

Difficulties in developing CNG Infrastructure

 Lack of Indigenous Technology
 Infrastructural constraints (Electricity, land etc.)
 Delay in getting permissions from statutory authorities
 Limited natural gas allocation leading to delay in management decisions on expenditure
commitment
 Uncertainty about conversion of vehicles & CNG demand
 Capital intensive project - a mother station cost would be 5-6 times the cost of a petrol
pump & pipeline need to be in place
 Objection from local people, encroachment
 Low storage capacity of on board cylinders, thus requiring frequent refills

Factors influencing success of CNG Project

 Government commitment to the program
 Distinct economic advantages over other fuels
 Appropriate technologies for CNG vehicles
 Appropriate implementation of program
 OEM support for CNG vehicles
 Sustainable economic advantage over liquid fuels
 Safety of CNG vehicles and CNG economics are key factors for the success of CNG
program

Lessons learnt In implementing CNG

IGL in a short span of five years has installed 203 CNG stations in NCT of Delhi in spite of various
hurdles faced during implementation of the program.
 Proper market survey of CNG vehicle population is essential to decide
o The number, location & type of stations
o The size, capacity & infrastructure of the stations
 Genuine cylinder, kits & spare parts to be used for CNG vehicles to avoid accidents
 Safety and performance standards of the CNG engines should be in place, monitored and
enforced
 CNG stations need to be built in large open space to allow multi point dispensing to
different categories of vehicles
 Involvement of local government / transport authorities
  Pipeline distribution infrastructure needs to be in place
 Dedicated/adequate mobile cascade filling arrangement continuous supply of gas to
daughter stations.
 Suitable codes/standards are to be in placed for CNG kit fitment, testing etc.
 Development of CNG infrastructure needs to be in line with growth of CNG vehicles.
 Long term advance planning needs to be carried out
 Development of CNG station is time and d capital consuming activity.

Conclusion
 Compressed Natural Gas has been accepted as an alternative fuel by the public at large.
 The success of CNG Expansion Program would depend on many factors. The key factors
being the economy of CNG vis-à-vis other conventional fuels, adherence to safety
guidelines and the Government Support.
 CNG is proven & commercially available clean fuel.
 Hon’ble supreme court of India mandated use of CNG in public transport buses in NCT
of Delhi.
 CNG bound for a phenomenal growth with the availability of NG in different cities.
 Safety of CNG vehicles and CNG economics are key factors for the success of CNG
program
 IGL is committed to build clean & green environment.
 The emphasis of Govt: would be on fuels with lowest emissions.
 However, CNG is here for the time being till a better fuel is discovered offering better
economics to the users
.
Suggestions
 Implement rigorous third-party inspection of vehicles and CNG fueling stations
 Supplement periodic inspections with on-road checks
 Public transport policy should emphasize new dedicated CNG vehicles rather than
conversions
 Improve fueling infrastructure: Found that 60% of stations that were daughter stations
were selling 15% of the gas. Plan more online stations. Separate fueling facilities for
buses and large trucks
 Train drivers, mechanics…everyone related
 Design fiscal and regulatory measures
 Develop institutional capacity. Constant monitoring
 New programme requires a supportive institutional framework. Consistently work
towards improving the programme content

Bibliography
 http://www.delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/DoIT_Transport/transport/home
 http://forest.delhigovt.nic.in/igl.htm
 http://www.iglonline.net/Default.aspx
 http://www.cpcb.nic.in/Data-2006_air.php
 http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/taxonomy/term/36
 http://www.iangv.org/