ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 14, 1996 TAG: 9606140009
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: MICHAEL LINDSEY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
One solution to the endless, exhaust-fume-like upward spiral of gasoline prices, oil spills and smog-producing traffic jams may be inside the Virginia Tech pickup truck sitting next to you waiting for the light to change.
Tech's physical plant and facilities department is converting seven pickup trucks to run on compressed natural gas as an alternative to petroleum gasoline.
The trucks are becoming natural-gas vehicles through a $28,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation. Four have been converted and in use for about a month. Tech built its own filling station for about $12,000, with assistance from United Cities Gas Co.
The trucks have two-way fuel capabilities: they can run on either regular gasoline or natural gas. "They will start and run on the natural gas," said John Kuykendall, Tech's facility engineer and energy manager. "But if the truck runs out of natural gas, it can automatically switch to gasoline."
Natural-gas vehicles are not some far-fetched vision of the future; they are in the here and now. Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Chrysler Corp. all produce them. There are also kits to add natural gas tanks on to other models of cars. The cost of the modifications is around $4,000.
Kuykendall believes Tech is the first university in Virginia to implement this kind of alternative fuel. It is not a new idea however; such vehicles have been around for more than 10 years and have been used by several government agencies.
Tech's vehicles will be monitored for 12 months. The findings will be reported back to the Transportation Department, and then Tech will decide whether to convert other vehicles.
The trucks have the same engines as when they came off of the assembly line, only with an added converter and a natural-gas tank. A normal car engine burns the liquid gasoline to power the engine, creating exhaust emissions. Natural gas enters this process in a gaseous state instead of a liquid. The big difference is what comes out at the other end - natural gas burns almost completely clean, its proponents say.
About 80 percent of urban pollution is caused by automobiles. Natural-gas vehicles emit 80 percent to 95 percent less carbon monoxide, about 80 percent less hydrocarbons, and considerably fewer nitrogen oxides, proponents say. With more than 500 million cars and trucks around the world, these changes would substantially reduce automotive pollution. Natural-gas vehicles meet or exceed all the federal environmental standards. "The other advantage, beyond its low emissions," Kuykendall said, "is that concentrated natural gas is actually cleaner internally on the vehicle. You could change the oil and maintain the vehicle at longer intervals than with a gasoline vehicle."
These bifuel vehicles have a compact tank in the bed of the truck that can hold up to 3,600 pounds per square inch of natural gas, the equivalent of five to seven gallons of gasoline. The tank is made of durable steel and glass-reinforced plastic. "It's very strong, in a vehicle collision it is not going to be affected, [whereas] a gasoline tank would be crushed," Kuykendall said. The natural-gas pickups can be refueled at a compressor, which is about the same size as a gasoline pump, in about five minutes .
While running on natural gas, the trucks have a minor loss of power. But a natural-gas vehicle that is totally dedicated to natural gas would provide the same amount of power as if it were running on gasoline and can hold the equivalent to about 20 to 25 gallons of gasoline.
The natural gas used for the pickups is no different from the natural gas used to generate heat in homes from existing gas lines. A slower and smaller refueling pump could be connected to these lines and allow homeowners to fill their cars at night in roughly four to six hours. Natural gas runs about 20 to 30 cents cheaper per equivalent gallon than gasoline. To top it off, the United States has a virtually unlimited domestic supply of natural gas.
Natural gas is one of the safest fuels around, its proponents say. In concentrated form it has a higher ignition temperature than gasoline and is lighter than air. This means it would evaporate harmlessly into the air if it were leaking in the open, as opposed to a puddle of extremely flammable liquid propane or gasoline. The only time concentrated natural gas might be an explosive hazard is if it were slowly leaking into a tightly enclosed area and ignited. That isn't possible in a pickup truck or other vehicles because of the open location of the tanks.
The biggest drawback is the cost of the conversions and the natural gas tanks. The lack of public refueling pumps would also make refueling inconvenient. Other than Tech's, the closest available facility with a natural gas pump is in Bristol.
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: LORA GORDON: 1. Facilities engineer John Kuykendall withby CNBone of the S10 Chevy pickups that have been converted to run on
natural gas at Virginia Tech. Behind him is the natural gas fueling
station. Color. 2. A tank to hold natural gas in the bed of the
truck is part of the conversion. The tank is made of durable steel
and glass-reinforced plastic. Color.