NATURAL GAS FOR CARS AND TRUCKS: OPTIONS AND CHALLENGES - Natural Gas-powered Cars and Trucks: Options and Issues - page 26

17

Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, ―LNG Vehicles,‖ http://www.lngfacts.org/lng-market/lng-
vehicles/.

18

CRS interview with Jerrod Mounce, director of fuel management, J. B. Hunt Transport
Services, October 2, 2014.

19

Diesel truck engines normally get about 6.4 miles per gallon (100 x 6.4 = 640).
20 Two hundred gallons of LNG equate to 110 diesel gallons; LNG trucks get about 5.5 miles per
gallon (110 x 5.5 = 605).

21

As a CNG tank is emptied, its gas pressure declines and only about 85% of the fuel can be
utilized (85 x 5.5 = 467).
22 Cummins Westport, Inc., ―Natural Gas Engines,‖ http://www.cumminswestport.com/natural-
gas-academy-videos/ engines.

23

Bob Tita, ―Slow Going for Natural-Gas Powered Trucks,‖ Wall Street Journal, August 25,
2014.
24 The Freightliner calculator assumes a diesel truck travelling an average of six miles per gallon,
diesel fuel at $3.75 per gallon, and a cost of $1.75 per diesel gallon equivalent for natural
gas. Under this scenario, the annual fuel cost would be $81,000 for natural gas and
$166,000 for diesel. See Freightline, ―Calculate Your Natural Gas Savings,‖ http://www.f
reightlinergreen.com/calculator.
25 Natural Gas Vehicles for America, ―LNG/LCNG,‖ https://www.ngvamerica.org/stations/
lnglcng/.

26

CRS interview with Paul Kerkhoven, Natural Gas Vehicles for America, October 22, 2014.
27 Rebecca Smith, ―Will Truckers Ditch Diesel?,‖ Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2012.
28

U.S. Congress, Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Usage of Natural Gas,
statement of Gregory Dolan, Acting CEO, Methanol Institute, 112th Cong., 2nd sess., July
24, 2012, S.Hrg. 112-587, p. 51.
29 The octane rating of liquid petroleum fuels measures the ignition quality of the fuel. For
example, regular gasoline often has a posted octane rating of 87, while premium gasoline
may be rated 93. The higher the octane rating, the less susceptible the fuel is to premature
burning in the combustion chamber of the engine. Most four-cylinder passenger vehicle
engines are built to use 87 octane. Some newer, high-compression passenger vehicle
engines require a higher octane to perform efficiently.

30

Biodiesel fuel can be made from plant material, such as soybeans or sunflowers, but to convert
the raw fat or oil from those plants into a fuel, they must first undergo a series of chemical
reactions. Methanol is often used to facilitate this process. See National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, ―Biodiesel and Other Renewable Diesel Fuels,‖ http://www.
nrel.gov/docs/fy07osti/40419.pdf.

31

Methanol Institute, ―Methanol Transportation Fuel,‖ http://www.methanol.org/Energy/
Transportation-Fuel.aspx.
32 U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Fuels Data Center (hereafter AFDC), ―Fuel Properties
Comparison,‖ http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/fuel_comparison_chart.pdf.

33

Methanol flex fuel vehicles were produced domestically in the 1990s.
34 The California Energy Commission began testing methanol vehicles in the 1970s. In addition,
the federal Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988 (AMFA; P.L. 100-94) encouraged the
production of alcohol and natural-gas-powered vehicles. Methanol fueling stations were
built in 15 states after the passage of AMFA. Gregory Dolan, ―Methanol Transportation
Fuels: A Look Back and a Look Forward,‖ Methanol Institute, http://eri.ucr.
edu/ISAFXVCD/ ISAFXVAF/MTFLBLF.pdf.