A Milestone for the Future of CNG
Compressed Natural Gas on a microscale offers benefits of global proportions
December 19, 2024
By Positive Energy Hub Staff
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has the potential to revolutionize the transportation industry and beyond. Compared to conventional fuels, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, improves fuel efficiency in fleet vehicles, and reduces maintenance costs because it is non-corrosive and burns cleaner. But compressing and storing natural gas at more than 3,000 pounds per square inch requires large mechanical compressors and other infrastructure that doesn’t exist at scale.
Enter ZeroHP CNGTM, a first-of-its-kind technology that eliminates the need for mechanical compressors. Instead, ZeroHP CNG utilizes high pressure (Geobaric Energy) from deep shale formations to compress the gas and fill CNG trailers on the sites where it is drilled. The technology is portable, allowing it to be deployed at microscale and generate fuel-grade CNG for a variety of uses in the field.
One such use is powering CNX’s electric frac fleet, which converts natural gas to electricity for hydraulic fracturing operations. Conventionally, the electric frac fleet uses gas from pipelines to fuel its electric turbine. When pipelines are not accessible (such as on a new well site), ZeroHP CNG can provide a low-emissions substitute fuel.
CNX recently completed the first implementation of this process, providing ZeroHP CNG to a new well site in Wadestown, WV that lacked existing infrastructure. Natural gas was produced, refined, and compressed at a mature well site in southwest PA and then trucked to the new site in WV. The ZeroHP CNG technology delivered 201 truckloads of CNG to fuel the frac fleet over 10 days. During this process, the team saw the following results:
- Natural gas compressed from ~800 psi to 3,900 psi for transport
- Each trailer filled in under 60 minutes
- 2 Trailers loaded at a time
In addition to use in CNX operations, ZeroHP CNG can also be sold directly to customers from the well pad on which it was produced. CNX sold 18 truckloads to customers during the first deployment, signifying a major milestone for the potential of microscale CNG.
One MMBtu (a Metric Million British Thermal Unit) of compressed natural gas produces approximately the same energy as seven gallons of diesel fuel, making it highly economical while greatly reducing the environmental impact. Tailpipe SOx and NOx are reduced by approximately 40% and 90% respectively by substituting CNG for conventional fuels. ZeroHP CNG also reduces production-related carbon intensity by 35% compared to conventional CNG.
Once scaled, ZeroHP CNG and Clean mLNG—a similar microscale solution for liquifying natural gas—have the potential to displace 56% of transatlantic and transpacific petroleum imports, reducing global emissions by 80 million metric tonnes CO2e every year.
Related Articles
