Gaseous Fuels

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Natural Gas
Propane
Why NG vs. Diesel

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Natural Gas

Natural gas is domestically produced and readily available to end-users through the utility infrastructure. It is also clean burning and produces significantly fewer harmful emissions than reformulated gasoline or diesel when used in natural gas vehicles. In addition, commercially available medium- and heavy-duty natural gas engines have demonstrated over 90% reductions of carbon monoxide (CO) and particulate matter and more than 50% reduction in nitrogen oxides (NOx) relative to commercial diesel engines. Natural gas can be stored either onboard a vehicle as compressed natural gas (CNG) at 3,000 or 3,600 psi or as liquefied natural gas (LNG) at typically 20-150 psi. Natural gas can also be blended with hydrogen. For more information on CNG/hydrogen blends, please see the U.S. DOE’s Advanced Fuels & Advanced Vehicles Data Center on fuel blends.

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Propane

What is Propane – Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) consists mainly of propane, propylene, butane, and butylene in various mixtures. However, in the United States, the mixture is mainly propane. It is produced as a by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining. The components of LPG are gases at normal temperatures and pressures.

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Why natural gas vs. diesel

	CNG/LNG	LPG	BioDiesel	ULSD	Blended
Low Emissions w/o After Treatment	+	+	-	-	-/+
Reduced Maintenance and Service	+	+	-	-	-
Energy Security/Diversity	+	+	-	-	-/+
Pipeline Compatibility	+	+	-	-	-/+
Domestic Availability	+	+	-	-	-/+
Engine Cost Stability	+	+	-	-	-
Fuel Price Volatility	+	+	-	-	-
Bridging Technology CH4 to H2	+	+	-	-	-
Recycling Technology	+	+	-	-	-
Range	-/+	+	+	+	-/+
Environmentally Clean	+	+	-	-	-/+
Safety	+	-	-	-	-/+