India’s First Private LNG Facility plant opened at Nagpur

• Minister for Road Transport and Highways Shri Nitin Gadkari has emphasized the importance of alternate biofuels for diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector.
• Inaugurating the country’s first Private LNG Facility plant at Nagpur today he said in our economy we are spending 8 lakh crores on the import of petrol diesel and petroleum products which is a big challenge.
• The Minister said we have designed a policy that encourages the development of imports to substitute cost-effective pollution-free and indigenous ethanol, bio CNG, LNG and hydrogen fuels.
• He said the ministry is constantly working on different alternative fuels. He said we have to use the surplus rice, corn and sugar to prevent it from going to waste.
• Talking about flex engines Shri Gadkari said the decision will be taken in three months making it mandatory for automobile manufacturers particularly four-wheelers and two-wheelers make flex engines. He said several countries like USA, Canada and Brazil already have them. He said the cost of the vehicle remains the same whether it is petrol or a Flex engine.

Liquified Natural Gas (LNG)

• LNG is produced by cooling NG to - 162 degrees C in the Cryogenic stage through Liquefaction. Kept in liquid form to increase quantities of NG that can be stored in tanks.
• Advantages
  1. Easy to transport.
  2. Helps in electrification.
  3. Clean burning fuel, smoke-free, less CO2 than Coal, no black carbon.
• Disadvantages: Explosion and Infra.
• Application: Business, Industry, Power Generation, Cooking.
• LNG takes less storage space than CNG.

Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)

• LPG is a by-product derived while extracting crude petroleum. It has Propane and Butane. It produces CO2, NOx and CO and is much cleaner than Gasoline. Heavier than air hence it will settle down on leakage.

• CNG is obtained by compressing NG under high pressure. Reduces its volume.
• Advantages
  • Viable alternative fuel (Storage cylinders)
  • Cheaper and reduce emissions.
  • Versatile and low storage costs.
  • Cleaner solution from diesel
• Disadvantages
  • Risk of Explosion.
  • Infra support is needed.
• Applications: Buses, Trucks.
• >90% is Methane and 3-4% is Ethane.
• CNG is also very light, so if there is a leak, it will dissipate rapidly into the air but LPG will settle on the ground. This makes CNG a safer choice over LNG. CNG releases fewer GHGs.

Hydrogen Enriched Compressed Natural Gas (H-CNG)

• The blending of hydrogen with CNG provides a blended gas termed as HCNG. HCNG combines the advantages of both hydrogen and methane.
• Delhi will be the first city in the country to roll out HCNG buses for public transport from November 2020.
• This is a step towards combating air pollution.

Government Efforts

• PM Ujjwala Yojana:
  1. To provide free cooking fuel to poor households, especially in rural areas.
  2. Provide deposit-free LPG connections to 8 crore SECC women.
  3. It reduces dependence on women to collect firewood, reduces time spent on cooking and prevents deforestation and pollution.
  4. Beneficiaries are identified through SECC. If not in SECC then, PMAY-Gramin, Antyodaya Anna Yojana, SC/ST Households, most backward classes, forest dwellers, tea/ex-tea garden tribes and residents of inland/ river islands.
• PAHAL: subsidy delivery to LPG consumers. Cut subsidy leakages and not subsidy per se. It has entered into Guinness Book for the largest DBT scheme.