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By end February, residents and travellers plying the routes of China's municipality of Beijing will slowly get to experience inhaling cleaner air as the municipality government undertakes to introduce the first batch of liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered public buses.
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On Monday, the Beijing Municipal People's Government signed a framework agreement with the country's state-owned oil and gas giant China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to enable the promotion of LNG-powered clean energy buses. Under the agreement, CNPC, through its listed arm PetroChina Company Limited, will supply 100 LNG-powered buses during the first half of 2012. The initial batch will already see operation by end February.
LNG is natural gas mainly composed of methane that has been temporarily converted to liquid form for ease of storage or transport. It is odourless, colourless, non-toxic and non-corrosive.
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The special bus line will be placed along the along the Chang'an Avenue where CNPC will also construct skid-mounted fueling stations.
The partnership effectively supports the city government's "Green Beijing" action plan to encourage the use of alternative fuels and improve air quality in the city.
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In a statement, PetroChina said the fine particle emissions of an LNG-powered vehicle are 90 per cent less compared to a diesel car. The pollutant emissions of one regular bus already correspond to the emissions given off by 50 cars.
If all of the city's current 15,000 buses are replaced by LNG-powered vehicles, the emission reduction will be equivalent to that of 750,000 cars being taken off the road, greatly reducing Beijing's PM 2.5 emissions and consequently improving the capital's air quality and overall atmospheric environment.
LNG is a safe, environmentally-friendly fuel. When exposed to the environment, LNG rapidly evaporates, leaving no residue on water or soil. If spilled, LNG would not result in a slick because it evaporates quickly and disperses.
Once LNG is converted to natural gas, it produces relatively low emissions when burned to heat homes, generate electricity and fuel vehicles.
In a 2009 report commissioned by the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas that compared the overall lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions of LNG production, processing and transportation, to those of coal, the study showed that existing domestic coal power plants produce two-and-a-half times more emissions on a lifecycle basis compared to LNG. Even the cleanest coal technologies were found to produce 70 per cent more lifecycle emissions than LNG.
Apart from China, countries that import LNG include Belgium, France, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
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