Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

The greenhouse gas benefits of NGVs do indeed extend beyond carbon dioxide reduction and remain strong, even with methane and nitrous oxide taken into account, says a new study backed by IANGV and the Canadian Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance. While the CO2 benefits have been well proven, question marks remained over the impacts of emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, both contributors to greenhouse gases.

The study was conducted and presented to the IANGV technical committee in Rio by consultant Alex Lawson, formerly of Teleflex-GFI, and concludes that the impact of these from natural gas vehicles is negligible – accounting for less than 3% of total greenhouse gas emissions. The study also concluded that on a carbon emissions basis, driving an NGV was equivalent to a 30% efficiency improvement over gasoline vehicles.The study was conducted using a range of converted bi-fuel gasoline/natural gas vehicles. It is due for public release in July.