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Indian LPG confusion or moving bombs

With the cabinet clearing LPG as ecofriendly fuel for vehicles, the message that people seem to have got is: Walk to the nearest dealer and get your car converted to cheap LPG. Unofficial estimates say there are nearly one lakh LPG-operated vehicles in New Delhi alone.

Perceived advantages :-
1) Kit costs as low as Rs.6000/- to Rs.7000/- (CNG kits cost upwards of Rs.30,000/-)
2) Cost per kilometer of running approx. 80 paise (petrol being nearly Rs.2 per km)
3) Household subsidised cooking gas cylinders available easily.
4) Dealers available dime a dozen in every locality who proclaim their ongoing illegal business of fitting LPG kits in vehicles as legal. "Of course it is legal. Haven't you read about the government decision," counters the proprietor of Syal Auto Gas in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi.

Realities :-
1) LPG is hazardous :
It is worth pointing out that natural gas (CNG) is lighter than air and in the unlikely event of a leak from piping or container the gas will dissipate upwards quite quickly. In the case of petrol and LPG the vapour given off is heavier than air and will tend to pool near the ground. This is where there is a strong risk of some ignition source. It is generally accepted that the various automotive fuels range in safety from diesel (safest) to LPG as the most hazardous, with alcohol fuels, methane and gasoline lying in the middle of the range.

2) Illegal dealers : Dealers are illegally converting atleast 2-3 cars per day. They do not even bother to fit imported LPG Commercial cylinders - see Box 3, (since manufacturing is not authorised by the government as yet) but just go in to fit household, subsidised cooking gas cylinders. "Cylinders for vehicles have to be thicker, these have a meter and two safety valves," says P.S. Sethi of Malcha petrol pump at Palam Marg, New Delhi. This is the first petrol pump in the country to have an LPG station and is waiting for the real government nod.

3) Ministry speaks : " These (illegal household LPG fitted vehicles) are moving bombs, highly dangerous and should be stopped immediately," says Himmat Singh, director, Ministry of Surface Transport. As far as regulating the illegal dealers are concerned, the transport department has been caught winking. " We are not aware of any of these dealers. They should be immediately stopped," says Parvez Hashmi, Minister of Transport. Similar view was eco's by Lock Up M.P.Tyagi, special commissioner, Delhi Traffic Police " We have never said that it is legal."

4) Law speaks : For LPG kits and special cylinders to be available off the shelf, the Motor Vehicles Act has to be modified, and safety norms set up. And even before that, it has to be cleared by Parliament in the next session. "In fact, we are yet to get a formal note from the Cabinet," says an official from the Ministry of Surface Transport.

5) Out of breath : If you're driving is to get over a mountain quickly it might be better to stick to petrol - although if you convert to gas you can still switch back to petrol when hitting the high mountain passes.(See Box 2)

Actual Advantages
1) Environment friendly: Propane, or liquefied petroleum gas, is a paraffin: although a petroleum product (it can also be produced from natural gas), it contains none of the olefins or aromatics that produce smog. Propane mixes very well with air, and, like compressed gas, is already vaporous when mixing in the injection ports of carburetors, reducing the pollutants ordinarily released when an engine turns over. Propane has significantly lower carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions, and causes nitrogen oxide emissions that, while no lower than gasoline, are not significantly higher, either. CNG (Compressed natural gas) or LPG (Liquid petroleum gas) has been recognised the world over as an efficient, safe, reliable, environment friendly and economical alternate fuel for automobiles. Both CNG and LPG are being used in many developing and developed countries and many people are opting for them.

2) Lower running cost: LPGs energy value is somewhat below gasoline's about 85 percent but in cost per mile this is more than Low Cost Fuel made up for by the lower price of the fuel. LPG cars off an assembly line will cost more than gasoline cars, probably some where between methanol cars and CNG cars. Abroad LPG is already used to power indoor forklifts and some other fleet vehicles.

3) Safe legal containers: Despite tunnel bans (Abroad) in many areas on vehicles carrying LPG, it appears that both LPG and natural gas are just as Safe Containers safe in the event of a collision as is gasoline. Indeed containers for alternative fuels are so solid that the explosion rate for these vehicles is below that of gasoline cars.

4) Reduced BOP (Balance of Payment): The primary goal is to reduce the nation's dependency on imported crude oil. India after all has twice as much gas reserves as oil reserves.

Box 1:- Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)

LPG consists mainly of Butane & Propane. Both are colourless, flammable gases. They are found in natural gas, light crude oil, and gases formed when heavy oil is cracked (broken down chemically) to produce petrol. Butane and propane liquefy under pressure at ordinary temperatures. Mixtures of liquefied butane and propane are called LPG (liquefied petroleum gas). Being in liquid state it can be transported in small cylinders & tankers to anywhere. These mixtures are used in as fuels in industry, homes and in many European countries and Australia to run automobiles.It also has the major disadvantage of needing heavy tanks for fuel storage.

Box 2:- CNG/LPG at high altitude

A minor sacrifice for the environment.
There is a problem with the standard mechanical petrol carburettor when driving at higher altitudes, where the air density is lowered, and that is that the engine runs progressively more rich. So that the power falls off both because the engine is breathing less oxygen (because of the decreasing air density with altitude) and also because a venturi actuated carburettor will run richer as the air density decreases. A conversion to natural gas fuelling, using a typical mechanical carburettor with a venturi metering system will suffer the same problems and so in this respect you will be no worse or better off. But recall that the power of a natural gas engine also falls off by about 12 to 14% because the gas occupies about 12% of the intake volume and so you have less air or oxygen (and of course the liquid fuel does not suffer this problem). On the other hand there is a possibility of using an electronic natural gas metering system operated by an oxygen sensor which will maintain a constant fuel/air ratio with altitude and this would solve the enrichment problem, but not the 12% loss. SO if you're driving is limited in terms of getting over the mountain quickly it might be better to stick to petrol - although if you convert to gas you can still switch back to petrol when hitting the high mountain passes.

Box 3:- Strong Cylinders

The imported fuel storage cylinders are much stronger than gasoline fuel tanks. In fact the design of Natural Gas Vehicle cylinders are subjected to a number of federally required "severe abuse" tests, such as heat and pressure extremes, gunfire, collisions and fires. A pressurized gas cylinder is probably the strongest component on the vehicle. Vehicles that totally destroyed in collisions show the only discernible component being the intact gas cylinder. It is unlikely that cylinders will rupture due to collision impact.