Explained: What is HCNG and what are its benefits?
Context: Buses running on hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas (HCNG), a cleaner fuel compared with CNG, are going to hit the capital’s roads.
What is HCNG?
- HCNG is a hydrogen-enriched compressed natural gas (CNG).
- In Delhi, instead of physically blending hydrogen with CNG, hygrogen spiked CNG will be produced using compact reforming process patented by Indian Oil Corporation.
- Hydrogen enriched-Compressed Natural Gas or HCNG, is predicted to be the first step to a hydrogen economy, and can be used in place of gasoline, diesel fuel/LPG and its combustion produces fewer undesirable gases in comparison to a normal automobile fuel.
What are its benefits?
- It is cleaner and more economical. Power output of HCNG is also better than CNG ones.
- HCNG means four per cent more fuel economy than CNG.
- It reduces the emission of carbon dioxide by 70% and increases the fuel efficiency by upto 3% resulting in overall fuel savings of around 5%. Switch to HCNG fuel requires minimum modifications to the existing buses.
- "It requires only a small hydrogen storage and a column for the mixing of hydrogen with natural gas at existing CNG stations. Safety components are similar to the CNG.
- HCNG is easier and safer to use than hydrogen as it contains very low energy content from hydrogen i.e., up to 30% by volume.
- HCNG reduces the engine's unburned hydrocarbon emissions and speeds up the process of combustion.
- The engine's fuel efficiency is improved by blending the CNG from hydrogen which lowers the fuel consumption of the vehicle.
- The thermal efficiency and fuel economy is also increased by HCNG.
Why and how HCNG came into picture?
- The Supreme Court had last year suggested looking at hydrogen-run vehicles as a solution for Delhi NCR’s poor air quality and believed that the HCNG could be a step in that direction.
- An SC directive in July 2018 had led to Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) collaborating to put up this first semi-commercial plant.
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