Notification Allowing Use of H-CNG Issued

/ Current Affairs
    •  Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has allowed use of H-CNG (18% mix of hydrogen) in CNG engines. 
    • The Ministry has been notifying various alternate fuels under Clean Fuels for transportation. 
    • The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has also developed specifications (IS 17314:2019) of Hydrogen enriched Compressed Natural Gas (H-CNG) for automotive purposes, as a fuel. 
    • Certain CNG-engine were tested to understand the emission reduction using H-CNG as compared to ‘neat’ CNG.

    CNG & H-CNG

    • CNG is compressed natural gas. With natural gas mainly composed of methane, CNG emits less air pollutants — carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter — than petrol or diesel.
    • H-CNG is a blend of hydrogen and CNG, the ideal hydrogen concentration being 18%. 
    • Compared to conventional CNG, use of H-CNG can reduce emission of carbon monoxide up to 70%, besides enabling up to 5% savings in fuel, tests by the Automotive Research Association of India and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) have found.