CHAPTER 10

COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS FOR

VEHICLE FUELING
Adam Weisz-Margulescu, P. Eng.
FuelMaker Corporation

Air quality is a major public concern. Motor vehicles are a major source of air
pollutants that have negative effects on the environment. Faced with unacceptable
air quality and growing public concern, governments and industry have taken a
number of initiatives to reduce motor vehicle emissions. The trend is clear: in order
to achieve acceptable air quality motor vehicle emissions standards will become
more stringent. The natural gas vehicle industry has become the leader in the drive
for clean air. At the same time, due to stringent indoor clean air mandates, fuel
pricing and supply problems, the natural gas forklift market has become the fastest
growing market niche in the natural gas vehicle industry.
Until the development of appliances for compressing natural gas to pressures
required for fueling vehicles, the slow-growth in public fueling infrastructure has
made it difficult for motor vehicles to readily access natural gas fuel. The high cost
of natural gas fueling equipment is prohibitive for a small number of vehicles.
These compact units give a small fleet operator the ability to perfectly size their
fueling requirements to the exact number of vehicles they service. At the same
time, the cost of the fuel station and conversion will be recovered through the fuel
price differential. These appliances can be used as an independent slow-fill gas
refueling appliance to provide compression for up to two vehicles simultaneously,
or they can be configured with multiple number of vehicle refueling appliances
coupled together to provide fuel to the fast-fill storage system. The storage system
in turn will provide fast-fill to the natural gas vehicle. For fleets that park their
vehicles indoor, an indoor remote panel is used (Fig. 10.1).

10.1 REFUELING APPLIANCE

The refueling unit is generally a self-contained, oil-free outdoor appliance that will
fill a 26.4 U.S. gallon gas cylinder to a pressure of 3000 psig @ 68⬚F within 8

10.1
10.2 CHAPTER TEN

Outdoor Time-Fill

Fast-Fill Storage

Indoor Remote

FIGURE 10.1 CNG fueling systems.

hours, which corresponds to an average flow rate of 1.8 SCFM. The flow rate is
roughly the energy equivalent to about 1.1 U.S. gallons of gasoline per hour, de-
pending on the energy content of natural gas. Average power consumption is only
about 1.3 kW using an electrical supply of 230/208 Volts @ 60 Hz (Fig. 10.2).
The appliance is connected to low-pressure gas system from 7 in. water column to
2 psig at rated flow. It is usually supplied with one fibre-reinforced high pressure
fill hose (second hose can be connected) connected to the unit via a breakaway
fitting which allows the hose to be disconnected without damage should the user
drive the vehicle away without disconnecting. The refueling nozzle supplied is
 COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS FOR VEHICLE FUELING 10.3

FIGURE 10.2 A refueling appli-

ance.

suitable for natural gas ‘‘slow-fill’’ applications. At the completion of each refu-
elling cycle, the high pressure gas contained downstream of the compressor is
returned to a blowdown vessel, thus reducing the pressure in the fill hose to ap-
proximately 29 psig.
A typical appliance is composed of the following modules (Fig. 10.3):

1. Compression
2. Controls
3. Electronics

The compression module and control module form one compact, integrated unit
(Fig. 10.4). The gas flow with the unit ‘‘on’’ is illustrated in Fig. 10.5. When the
unit is turned ‘‘off’’ the gas is recirculated as shown in Fig. 10.6.
The blowdown vessel is part of the controls module and will accommodate the
volume of gas contained by the fill hose, refueling nozzle, and the space between
the vehicle receptacle and check valve only. This limits the maximum length of
the fill hose. The maximum length of the fill hose is limited by the NFPA 52 Code
as well, to 25 ft.
10.4 CHAPTER TEN

ENCLOSURE

ELECTRONICS MODULE

COMPRESSION MODULE

CONTROLS MODULE

BLOW-DOWN
VESSEL

FIGURE 10.3 Modules within the refueling appliance.

COMPRESSOR

ELECTRIC
MOTOR

BLOW-DOWN CONTROLS
VESSEL

FIGURE 10.4 Compression and control module.

 COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS FOR VEHICLE FUELING 10.5

BREAKAWAY
FILL NOZZLE COUPLING
MANIFOLD
BLOCK

VENT COMPRESSION
MODULE
INLET FILTER

REDUNDANT PRESSURE
RELIEF VALVE

COMBI VALVE

MOTOR MOTOR
ROTOR STATOR
HIGH PRESSURE
TRANSDUCER

LOW PRESSURE
SWITCH
PRESSURE RELIEF
VALVE

BLOW-DOWN
VESSEL

INLET PRESSURE
HIGH PRESSURE
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

FIGURE 10.5 Pressure within control unit when on.

The electro-mechanical controls are mounted on the convection plate, which

represents the interface between the blowdown vessel and the compressor (Fig.
10.7). The low pressure switch is set to shut down the unit if the inlet pressure
drops below 5 in. of water column (Fig. 10.8). The low pressure relief valve will
release the pressure into the vent line in case the blow-down vessel is over-
pressurized (Fig. 10.9). The high pressure transducer monitors the high pressure
output from the compressor (Fig. 10.10). It is calibrated for 2900 psig. The pressure
is temperature compensated. The temperature sensor is mounted in the inlet air
stream and determines the allowable fill pressure for a particular ambient temper-
ature. The temperature/pressure compensation feature attempts to fill the storage
tank with a constant mass of gas, regardless of the ambient temperature. This
prevents the vehicle tank from being over-pressurized if the ambient temperature
rises. The convection plate temperature sensor will shut down the unit at 167⬚F
and the motor temperature switch will turn off the motor at 275⬚F.
The electronics module controls the operation of the unit. The schematic diagram
is shown in Fig. 10.11. Some parameters can be changed by the installer or service
personnel in the field via a programming device available. The electronics module
is interfaced with the user panel. Starting, stopping and monitoring of the unit takes
place at the user panel. It has separate Start and Stop buttons and three indicator
lights.
10.6 CHAPTER TEN

BREAKAWAY
FILL NOZZLE COUPLING
MANIFOLD
BLOCK

VENT COMPRESSION
MODULE
INLET FILTER

REDUNDANT PRESSURE
RELIEF VALVE

COMBI VALVE

MOTOR MOTOR
ROTOR STATOR
HIGH PRESSURE
TRANSDUCER

LOW PRESSURE
SWITCH
PRESSURE RELIEF
VALVE

BLOW-DOWN
VESSEL

INLET PRESSURE
HIGH PRESSURE
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

FIGURE 10.6 Pressure within control unit when off.

10.2 COMPRESSOR

The compression module as shown in Fig. 10.12 is a reciprocating motion type,

four-stage, four-cylinder non-lubricated arrangement with the direct-drive rotor
mounted directly on the drive-shaft. As all reciprocating compressors, this unit
operates on an adiabatic principle: the gas is drawn into the first stage cylinder via
the crankcase, is compressed in the individual cylinders, is moved from stage to
stage via integrated gas passages through inlet and discharge valves, and finally is
passed through the fourth stage discharge valve against discharge pressure into the
vehicle storage tank. The gas is cooled between stages through the integrated pas-
sages by conduction and radiation. The geometry of the compressor and the design
of the gas passages between stages will facilitate the dissipation of the heat gen-
erated by compression into the surrounding aluminum structure. In turn, the finned
cylinder heads are cooled via forced convection with a separate two-speed fan
mounted in the enclosure below the blowdown vessel. In case of blocked vent
lines, a pressure relief valve mounted on the compressor housing will release to
atmosphere at 145 psig. A high pressure burst disc installed in the fourth stage
cylinder head will provide protection if the pressure rises above 3335 psig.
The gas is drawn into the blowdown vessel through the inlet pipe, passing
through an inlet filter and a combination valve. The blowdown vessel is an integral
 COMPRESSED NATURAL GAS FOR VEHICLE FUELING 10.7

MOTOR TEMPERATURE
SWITCH
CTION PL
NVE AT
CO E
LOW PRESSURE
SWITCH

LOW PRESSURE
RELIEF VALVE

COMBINATION
VALVE

HIGH PRESSURE
TRANSDUCER
CONVENTION PLATE
TEMPERATURE SENSOR
FIGURE 10.7 Interface between blowdown vessel and the compressor.

VENT

GAS
INLET

BLOW-DOWN
VESSEL

LOW PRESSURE SWITCH

FIGURE 10.8 Low pressure switch.

10.8 CHAPTER TEN

VENT

GAS
INLET

BLOW-DOWN
VESSEL

LOW PRESSURE
RELIEF VALVE

FIGURE 10.9 Low pressure relief valve.

COMPRESSION
MODULE

BLOW-DOWN
VESSEL

HIGH PRESSURE
TRANSDUCER

FIGURE 10.10 High pressure transducer.