A review on Development and Performance

Analysis of CNG/Gasoline Fuelled Two

Wheeler
Jay R. Patel
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Parul Institute of Engineering and Technology, Vadodara
jay5793patel@gmail.com

Prof. Nityam P. Oza

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Parul Institute of Engineering and Technology, Vadodara
nityamoza@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Research into alternative fuels has become urgent due to progressive depletion of reserves of liquid fossil fuels and the effect of local,
regional and global emissions on the environment. Combustion of fossil fuels in vehicles for transportation has led to widespread
release of pollutants such as CO, HC, NOx, SPM, and many other harmful compounds in the environment. The demand for two
wheelers has come from rural areas. The growth of two wheeler industry is increase day by day in India. Recently most of two
wheelers are running on petrol .With increasing the use of petrol emission effects on human and environment increases. CNG is
globally accepted as a green fuel. Natural gas is promising alternative fuel to meet strict engine emission regulation by lowering the
engine emission characteristics of CO, CO2 and HC as compared to petrol engine.CNG is attractive for five reasons. It is the fuel
cheaper than gasoline. It has lower air pollution emissions. It has lower green house gas emissions. Its use extends petroleum
supplies. There are large quantities of the natural gas available in the world.

from renewable sources. Often, they produce less

KEY WORDS: CNG, Alternative Fuel, Emission, Carbon
Dioxide, Greenhouse Gas, 4-stroke, SI engine.
INTRODUCTION:
Conventional automobile fuels and their problems:
At Present Gasoline and Diesel are mostly used for two
wheeler vehicles. Combustion of fossil fuels in
vehicles led to increase the pollutants such as CO, HC,
NOx, SPM and many other harmful compounds in the
environment. This affects the air quality and causes
health effects.
Some Barriers of Present Fuels are as below:
1) Greenhouse Gas Emissions and effect on
human health
2) Depletion of Fossil Fuels
3) Depend on other Countries
4) Customer Preference
pollution than gasoline or diesel.
 Ethanol
 Biodiesel
 Natural Gas
 Propane (LPG)
 Hydrogen
The use of Alternative fuels is recently limited for cars,
buses and auto rickshaws. That much awareness of
using alternative fuels is not in two wheelers especially
in India. In India there is a large market available for
two wheeler vehicles and it is increasing day by day.
So, the use of alternative fuels in two wheeler vehicle
is necessary for reducing the emissions and also for
reducing the import of conventional fuels. From all the
alternative fuels CNG is more suitable and practical to
use as a fuel for two wheeler vehicles.

About CNG :
Present Alternative Fuels:
Alternative fuels are derived from resources other than Natural gas (NG) is made up primarily of methane
petroleum. Some are produced domestically, reducing (CH4) but frequently contains trace amounts of
our dependence on imported oil, and some are derived

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NCEVT’16 Jay R. Patel
ethane, propane, nitrogen, helium, carbon dioxide,
hydrogen sulfide, and water vapor.
CNG may be found above oil deposits, or may be
collected from landfills or wastewater treatment plants
where it is known as biogas.
CNG is made by compressing natural gas (which is
mainly composed of methane, CH4), to less than 1
percent of the volume it occupies at standard
atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in
hard containers at a pressure of 20–25 MPa (2,900–
3,600 psi), usually in cylindrical or spherical shapes.
CNG is used in traditional gasoline/internal
combustion engine automobiles that have been
modified or in vehicles which were manufactured for
CNG use, either alone ('dedicated'), with a segregated
gasoline system to extend range (dual fuel).
Properties of CNG:
Table 1 – Properties of CNG
Properties Value
Flash Point (°C) -104
Auto Ignition Temp (°C) 723
Octane Rating 120
Boiling Temp (°C) -162
Freezing Temp (°C) -182
Air-Fuel Ratio 17.24
Storage Pressure Mpa 20.6
Pollution CO-HC-Nox Very Low
Flame Speed (m/sec) 0.63
CNG Engine Development:
For petrol engines or spark ignition engines there are
two options, a bi-fuel conversion and use a dedicated to
CNG engine. The bi-fuel conversion of vehicles fitted
with fuel-injected engines may utilize the original
engine management system, if it can be modified to
control the gas flow and revised ignition timing or
alternatively, be fitted with a standard CNG control
system. The fuel injectors must be disabled when the
engine is running on gas, although fuel must still flow
to the injectors and then pass directly to the return fuel
line to provide cooling.
Diesel engines that have been converted to operate on
natural gas require additional components as well as
some mechanical modifications to the engine and the
installation of an ignition system.
NCEVT’16
CNG Fuel Kit:
The CNG kit is an assembly, which is fitted on a SI
engine, in order to allow the engine to run on the
gaseous fuel. A typical CNG kit consists of the
following parts:
 Electronic controller unit (ECU)
 Cylinder
 Pressure Regulators
 High Pressure (HP) hose
 CNG solenoid valve
 Selector switch
 Refueling valve
 Gas-Air mixer
 Refueling interlocking device
 Throttle Body
 Sensors
 Injectors
 CNG filters
Electronic Control Unit (ECU) :
The ECU is usually microprocessor based. It
communicates with various sensors through a
CANBUS interface. A typical ECU has the following
functions:
1. Efficient fuel management.
2. Engine speed limiting.
3. Vehicle speed limiting.
4. Fault diagnosis using any standard protocol.
5. Data recording and storage.
Cylinder:
The cylinder is used to store CNG at a working
pressure of 200 bar. It is fitted with a shut-off valve
and a safety burst disc. The cylinders are type approved
by the Chief Controller of Explosives, Government of
India. Composite Cylinders are also available for CNG
storage. CNG cylinders are made of stainless steel or
alloy steel.
Pressure Regulators:
The function of the pressure regulator is to reduce the
pressure of CNG from 200 bar to just below
atmospheric pressure. The pressure regulators are
divided into two or three stages to divide the pressure
drop. This avoids problems of freezing caused due to
throttling of gas when it expands from 200 bar to
atmospheric pressure.
The CNG pressure regulator needs to be certified for
all ECE and ISO standards. It is mounted with a
pressure relief valve, high pressure solenoid valve, high
pressure CNG sensor and a coolant plate. It
electronically reduces the pressure from 200 bars to a
pressure between 5 bars and 7 bars. The coolant is
circulated to prevent freezing of the regulator by the
throttling effect.
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Jay R. Patel

High Pressure (HP) hose:
The HP hose connects the refueling valve to the CNG
cylinder and the primary pressure regulator. It is
generally a metal matrix or braided construction with a
poly vinyl chloride (PVC) sleeve.
CNG Solenoid Valve:
The solenoid valve is used to cut off the fuel supply to
the engine as and when required. It is operated through
an ECU and acts as a safety device during
emergencies.
Selector Switch:
A selector switch is fitted for bi-fuel vehicles, enabling
the driver to choose either the CNG mode or the petrol
mode of operation. It also serves as a fuel indicator for
the quantity of CNG available.
Refueling Valve:
The refueling valve is used to refuel the CNG cylinder.
It is usually attached to the receptacle on which the
filling nozzle is fitted.
Gas-Air mixer:
For the carburetion kits, the gas-air mixer is a unique
component, specially designed to suit each engine
model. It precisely meters gas and mixes it with air and
delivers an appropriate air-fuel mixture to the engine.
Refueling interlocking device:
This safety device disables the ignition system of a
vehicle by cutting of the vehicle battery power, when it
is being refueled.
Throttle Body:
This device controls the air-fuel mixture flow to the
engine and incorporates a butterfly valve. Throttle
body can be controlled mechanically or electrically
through the ECU as well.
Sensors:
The Sensors communicate with the ECU. The major
engine sensors are as follows:
1. Exhaust gas oxygen sensor for feedback air-
fuel ratio control.
2. Intake air temperature sensor for detecting
ambient settings.
3. Manifold air pressure sensor for sensing the
pressure.
Injectors:
Injectors are specially designed for gaseous fuel
applications. These injectors can open and close in less
than 2 milliseconds. The injectors are precisely
calibrated for injecting accurate amount of gas in 2
NCEVT’16 Jay R. Patel
milliseconds. Generally the injection pressure is 4-5
bars.
CNG Filters:
Particulates are filtered to 40 microns at the inlet of the
high pressure regulator. CNG filter prevents the
particulate matter (PM) from entering the engine.
Break Even Cost Analysis
The main purpose of break-even analysis is to
determine the minimum output that must be exceeded
in order to make profit. It also is a rough indicator of
the earnings impact of a marketing activity.
During discussion above mention concern it is clearly
seen that CNG vehicle saves cost in fuel economy.
During actual run of CNG vehicles compared to the
conventional vehicle also saves the running cost per
km. Initially CNG vehicles may cost high but research
as shown rate of return leads to overall cost reduction.
Moreover, as production facility and volume increases
the initial cost of vehicle also decreases.
Advantages of CNG :
 CNG does not contain any lead.
 CNG engine have quite in operation.
 Boosts national economy.
 Fuel cheaper than gasoline or diesel.
 CNG-powered vehicles have lower
maintenance costs.
 Due to high octane number of CNG, engine
operates smoothly with high compression
ratios without knocking.
 Increased life of lubricating oils, as CNG does
not contaminate and dilute the crankcase oil.
 Less pollution and more efficiency.
 Lower the maintenance cost.
Disadvantages of CNG:
 Require a greater amount of space for fuel
storage.
 Fall in engine power output.
 Higher Vehicle Capital Cost.
 Short Driving Range.
LITERATURE REVIEW:
Review on Application of alternative Fuels by Iman
K. Reksowardojo.
From long experience in research and the application
of alternative fuels, it can be concluded as follows:
1. When prime movers designed for a certain fuel are
to operate on an alternative fuel, it is very important to
see that the designed need of the engine is matched
with the characteristic properties of alternative fuel, by
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either modifying the engine, the fuel, or both if engines comparable to their gasoline or diesel
necessary. counterparts.
2. Establishment of a set of standards for alternative
fuels is a matter of high priority.
3. Academia can develop new alternative fuels and
prove them technically, but economic, social, political
and environmental barriers need to be surmounted
before they can enter the market.

Review on Impact of Alternative fuels by Piotr

Bielaczyc, Joseph Woodburn, Andrzej Szczotka,
Piotr Pajdowski.

This study considers chassis dynamometer data

obtained under laboratory conditions. Results from the
literature and from experiments conducted by the
authors show a range of responses in terms of exhaust
emissions of GHG for different fuel types. CNG in
particular shows low CO2 emissions, but ethanol Fig.1. CNG engine emissions result
blends show virtually no change in CO2 emissions and
Figure 1 shows that there is greatly reduce exhaust emissions
an increase in volumetric fuel consumption.
with the use of CNG as compared to gasoline.
Results from the literature and from experiments
conducted by the authors show a range of responses in
terms of exhaust emissions of GHG for different fuel
types. CNG in particular shows low CO2 emissions, but
ethanol blends show virtually no change in CO2
emissions and an increase in volumetric fuel
consumption.

Review on Application of CNG in transport sector

by B B Ghosh, Ranjitkumar Chakrabarti and
Kalyankumar das.

Following facts have come to light:

 The existing SI engines can be operated with
100 per cent substitution of CNG in place of
petrol.
 It is Difficult to operate the CI engine with
100 per cent substitution of CNG.
 The CI engines can be completely operated
with CNG by Converting the CI engines to SI
engines, though it is not economical.
 The conversion of existing SI and CI engines
needs kits the manufacture of which has been
very popular all over the world.
 It appears through the literature survey that
the development of kits has a wide scope
related to the proper design and fabrication.
Review on CNG as an alternative fuel for I.C.
Engine by Semin, Rosli Abu Bakar.
In this paper, the CNG engines research and
development fueled using CNG are highlighted to keep
the output power torque and emissions of natural gas
Fig.2. CNG and Gasoline power curves
Figure 2 shows the research result that, a 9% loss in peak
torque when running on CNG compared to gasoline.
Although peak power was not obtained on gas (due to the
limitations of the injectors) there is also a predicted loss 9%
on peak power.
Review on CNG as an alternative fuel for S.I.
Engine by Munde Gopal G., Dr. Dalu Rajendra S.
Based on the reviewed paper for the performance and
emissions of compressed natural gas , it is concluded
that the compressed natural gas represents a good
alternative fuel for SI engine and therefore must be
taken into consideration in the future for transport
purpose.
Number of conclusions is drawn from the studies of
various experimental results, these are follows;

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NCEVT’16 Jay R. Patel
  The engine thermal efficiency and exhaust gas
temperature produced by the CNG burning is
always higher as compared with that of the
petrol/diesel
 CNG produces less 8-16% of brake torque,
brake power and BMEP compared to gasoline
fuel due to reduced volumetric efficiency and
lower flame speed of CNG
 On average the reduction of CO, CO2 and HC
emission are 20-98%, 8-20% and 40-87%
respectively by CNG.
 Higher NOx emission is the main emission
concern for CNG as automotive fuel that can
be reduced by increasing fuel density and
blending small quantities of H2.
Review on Performance and Emission of SI engine
using CNG as a fuel for Four Wheeler by M.K
Hassan, I.Aris, S.Mahmod, R.Sidek.
Performance and emission of SI engine fuelled with
CNG at low and high load condition were evaluated,
and the conclusions can be drawn as follows:
 The IMEP of SI engine using standard
gasoline fuel system, commercially CNG
conversion kit and proposed CNG conversion
kit at 25% throttle opening position shows
decreased trend with the increasing of engine
speed, while at 80% throttle opening Position
the IMEP trend of SI engine using standard
gasoline fuel system, commercially CNG
conversion kit and proposed CNG conversion
kit is increased as the increasing of engine
speed.
 Generally, the brake power trend of SI engine
using standard gasoline fuel system,
commercially CNG conversion kit and
proposed CNG conversion kit at 25% and
80% throttle opening position is increased as
the increasing of engine speed, except the SI
engine with proposed conversion kit at 25%
throttle opening position which is the trend is
decreased as the increasing of engine speed.
 The highest maximum brake specific gas/fuel
consumption at 25% throttle opening position
is for SI engine using proposed CNG
conversion kit, about 445.91 kWh at 4,500
rpm and at 80% throttle opening position, the
maximum brake specific gas/fuel consumption
is for SI engine using commercially CNG
conversion kit for about 317.96 g/kWh at
2,500 rpm.
Review on Performance analysis of a SI engine
using CNG as a fuel for Two Wheeler by Musthafah
Mohd. , M. S. Alia, M.A. Salima, Rosli A. Bakarb,
NCEVT’16 Jay R. Patel
A. M. Fudhaila, M.Z. Hassanc, Abdul Muhaimin M.
S.
In this study, the single cylinder spark ignition (SI)
engine was selected in order to study the effect CNG
into the spark ignition engine.
Based from the experiment in this study, compressed
natural gas (CNG) produced low performance
compared to liquid fuel. The power of CNG when
compared to liquid fuel is reduced to about 18.5 %.
CNG’s volumetric efficiency is lower than liquid fuel,
due to its physical properties which is gas.
In the experiment, heat transfer rate for CNG at4500
rpm is 20 kW at. However, the heat transfer rate by
liquid fuel is higher (26 kW) at the same engine speed.
Therefore, the performance of CNG is lower than
liquid fuel, but in term of heat generated CNG give a
better life span of the engine because of the low heat
transfer rate to the wall.
Conclusion Derived From Literature Survey:
From the literature review following points are
concluded:
 CNG is environment friendly, economic,
availability is in abundance and high in
calorific value.
 CNG in particular shows low CO2 emissions.
 Due to higher ignition temperature, CNG is
less hazardous then petrol.
 The higher octane rating of CNG compared
with gasoline allows a higher compression
ratio.
 Maintenance costs for gas are lower than that
of gasoline engines because gaseous fuel burn
clean without carbon deposits.
 The properties of CNG are well matched with
gasoline so the replacement of gasoline with
CNG is Possible.
 In India, two-wheelers are popular because of
its low cost operation including supply of fuel.
Many manufacturers are in the process of
converting existing two wheelers to CNG
operated.
 It appears through the literature survey that
the development of CNG kits has a wide
scope related to the proper design and
fabrication. As per the different SI engines
having different horse power the careful
design and fabrication of CNG kits require
proper thought.
 break even analysis for additional cost is
compensated with in first two years of buying
which is comparable with most automobile
having a useful life of nearly 10 years.
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  There are several major problems needed to
be solved when using natural gas engines,
there is the set of point for the best
compromise between emissions and fuel
economy is not clear, the optimum air-fuel
ratio changes with both operating conditions
and fuel properties.
 CNG surely seem to be the fuel of the future.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am grateful to prof. Nityam Oza for his valuable
suggestions and guidance given by them. I would like
to thank the teaching &non-teaching staff of
Department of Mechanical Engineering for sharing
their knowledge with me.
REFERENCES
E.Ramjee and K.Vijaya Kumar Reddy, “Performanve
analysis of a 4-stroke SI engine using CNG as an
alternative fuel’’ Indian Journal of science and
technology.2011 page no 56-62.
Yanuandri Putrasari a, Achmad Praptijantoa, Arifin
Nura, Bambang Wahonoa, Widodo Budi Santosoa,
“Evalution of Performance and Emission of SI engine
fuelled with CNG at low and high load condition.”
International Conference on Sustainable Energy
Engineering and Application, 2014.
Musthafah Mohd. , M. S. Alia, M.A. Salima, Rosli A.
Bakarb, A. M. Fudhaila, M.Z. Hassanc, Abdul
Muhaimin M. S., “Performance analysis of a spark
ignition engine using compressed natural gas (CNG) as
fuel.” 2nd International Conference on Sustainable
Energy Engineering and Application, ICSEEA (2014)
288-296.

JOURNAL PAPERS: BOOKS:

Iman K. Reksowardojo, “Review Paper: Research on
the Application of Alternative Fuels of Combustion S.S.Thipse “Alternative Fuels”. A JAICO Book.
Engines and Propulsion Systems.” Energy Procedia 68
( 2010 ) 147 – 156. Richard Folkson “Alternative Fuels and Advanced
Vehicle Technologies for Improved Environmental
Piotr Bielaczyc, Joseph Woodburn, Andrzej Szczotka, Performance.” Woodhead Publishing.
Piotr Pajdowski, “The Impact of Alternative Fuels on
Fuel Consumption and Exhaust Emissions of WEBSITES:
greenhouse Gases from Vehicles Featuring SI
Engines.” The 12th International Conference on Alternate Fuel Data Centre
Combustion & Energy Utilisation, 2015 pp. 155-163. http://www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/

B B Ghosh, Ranjitkumar Chakrabarti and Kalyankumar http://www.conserveenergyfuture.com/Disadvantages_

das, “Application of CNG in transport sector – A FossilFuels.php#sthash.NAVMzb2.dpuf
Review of the Current status of Technology and Future
Projections.” Journal of Scientific and Industrial www.afdc.energy.gov/fuels/natural_gas_benefits.html
research, 2003. vol. 43, pp. 77–85.

Semin, Rosli Abu Bakar, “A Technical Review of

Compressed Natural Gas as an Alternative Fuel for
Internal Combustion Engines.” American Journal of
Engineering and Applied Sciences 1 (4): 302-311,
2008.

Munde Gopal G., Dr. Dalu Rajendra S, “Compressed

Natural Gas as an Alternative Fuel for Spark Ignition
Engine:A Review.” International Journal of
Engineering and Innovative Technology. Volume 2,
Issue 6, pp 92-96 December 2012.

M.K Hassan, I.Aris, S.Mahmod, R.Sidek, “Influence of

Injection and Ignition of CNG Fuelled Direct Injection
Engine at Constant Speed.’’ Australian Journal of
Basic and Applied Science pp 305-311 nov 2010.

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NCEVT’16 Jay R. Patel