Pakistan CNG Sector: Safety, Economics & Sustainability

CNG VEHICLE ACCIDENT: ISSUES, CAUSES AND SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS

Last month 44 people died on accidents of CNG converted public sector transport vehicles. I was deputed to make technical reports of some accidents to ascertain reasons for these accidents and to recommend safety measures for future. Before discussing the technical aspects of the problem in hand, it is important to mention two things right at the outset which relate to inadequate awareness and incorrect perceptions about the CNG cylinders. It was surprising that electronic and print media persisted in erroneous reporting that the accidents occurred due to bursting/explosion of the CNG cylinders. Add to that, some of the Government departments were also relating these accidents to non-compliance of Hydrostatic testing of CNG cylinders. Both are absolutely wrong impressions. This incorrect reporting has continued till date which has developed serious apprehensions about CNG cylinders in general public. In the context of the foregoing, following points are elaborated for clear and correct understanding of the problem: a) Contrary to the media reporting no approved CNG cylinder ever exploded in any accident of the CNG converted public service vehicles in the history of Pakistan CNG Industry. Approved CNG cylinders having manufacturing standard NZS 5454 should never burst or explode and so was the case in recent accidents that claimed 44 lives. Few CNG cylinder burst accidents that happened in the past were all in private vehicles not in the public service vehicles. b) Non-compliance of Hydrostatic testing of CNG cylinders after the due date was not the cause of any cylinder accident that ever happened in Pakistan. There is no correlation between CNG accidents and non-compliance of Hydrostatic testing requirement of CNG cylinders; hence relating these accidents with such testing of CNG cylinders is totally incorrect. c) CNG Safety Rules, 1992 (copy of the relevant clauses attached as Annexure-A) do not cover all the required safety measures to prevent CNG vehicle accidents similar to that of last month which claimed precious lives. These rules require updating. On the spot examination of vehicles and their damaged CNG kits after the accidents have helped in establishing some causes due to which the vehicles caught fire. In addition, undersigned has exercised all due diligence possible to prepare safety recommendations in order to avoid such CNG vehicle accidents to happen in future. Visits to different Road side CNG kit conversion facility to observe their working, doing some practical experiments in HDIP CNG kit conversion facility, reading technical manuals and relevant international standards have further helped in finding the causes and identifying possible solution to prevent the causes of such accidents.
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Pakistan CNG Sector: Safety, Economics & Sustainability A. CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS IN THE CNG CONVERTED VEHICLES/NGVs: The fire accidents in the CNG converted vehicles were caused by the leakage of gas after collisions of vehicle and in some cases even without any collision. The leakage of gas and resultant catching of fire is attributable to following factors: 1. Leakage of gas from high pressure piping due to: a. Breaking of high pressure piping; b. Dislodging of high pressure fitting; c. Damaging of high pressure pipe due to impact, mechanical wear and tear and constant vibration; all these can occur without a collision of the vehicle. d. Improper installation of high pressure pipe and fitting. It can result in damage and dislodging of high pressure pipe and fitting. 2. Detaching of CNG cylinder. 3. Sparking of air-gas mixture created in the passenger cabin can be due to cigarettes, lighter, match box, electrical instruments etc carried by the passengers. 4. After the collision the unwanted ignition could be caused: a. Short circuiting of battery and electrical wiring; b. Contact of fuel with hot surfaces i.e. engine, exhaust manifold, radiator etc; c. By spark created when Kinetic Energy of motion is converted into heat energy. 5. Bursting of unapproved cylinders, welded cylinders and cylinders that are not manufactured for CNG use. 6. Bursting of unapproved valve. 7. Leakage of gas from the cylinder valve. 8. Leakage of gas from the filling valve 9. Bursting/leakage of gas from the CNG Pressure Regulator due to malfunctioning of the first stage valve (Note: Bursting only if 1st stage safety is replaced with dead plug) B. RECOMMENDATIONS TO PREVENT THE ACCIDENTS IN CNG VEHICLES/NGVs: The safety recommendations to prevent the aforementioned causes of the CNG converted vehicle/NGVs are given below: 1. CNG CYLINDERS: a. Integrity: Only approved seamless (Type I) CNG cylinder having manufacturing standard NZS 5454 must be used in CNG converted vehicles or NGVs.
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Pakistan CNG Sector: Safety, Economics & Sustainability b. Positioning of CNG Cylinder: i. In low-floor buses CNG cylinders must be installed at the roof (over carriage). In high floor buses CNG cylinders can be installed on the roof or beneath the Bus, with extra protection. ii. In vans (Hiace, Mazda etc) CNG cylinder may be placed a) on the over carriage if it is strong enough to hold the weight of cylinders and the center of gravity of the vehicle is not disturbed b) beneath the vehicle c) at the end (behind last seat) of the passenger cabin. If the cylinders are installed behind the last seat it is recommended to isolate the passenger cabin from this portion. iii. It is not recommended to place CNG cylinders beneath the passenger seats. c. Fastening of CNG Cylinders i. The cylinder must be mounted on V-Blocks as shown in figure taken from the ISO 15501-2 standard. These blocks prevent cylinder from rolling, sliding and slipping in case of the road accidents.

If the V-blocks are not installed the cylinder will detach from fastening in case of accident where there is rapid deceleration of vehicle as it will result in acceleration of the 70 kg cylinder i.e. rolling and sliding. All the stress will be only on the two bolts of fastening strip which will definitely fail resulting in detaching of cylinder. Detaching of the CNG cylinder may cause leakage of gas, breaking of pipes/fitting and injury to the passengers. iii. The bracket holding CNG cylinder should be designed strong enough to withstand road accidents. d. General Guidelines for CNG Cylinders i. Hydrostatic testing of the cylinders should be done after 5 years interval according to CNG Safety Rules, 1992, even though some experts and the undersigned have reservations on safety of these
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ii.

Pakistan CNG Sector: Safety, Economics & Sustainability tests. It can take the CNG cylinder to its plastic limit, after that it can fail during service. The cylinder is also unnecessarily subjected to 1.5 times its working pressure in hydrostatic testing. A Qualified pressure vessel inspector can declare the CNG cylinder fit for further use with the help of visual and ultrasonic inspection tools without Hydrostatic testing. Ensure that CNG cylinder have corrosion protection i.e. properly painted CNG cylinders increase the weight of the vehicle. As a result it affects the structure, center of gravity, driving security and fuel consumption rate. In addition, the public service vehicle drivers are not fully cognizant of the CNG kit and cylinders. Therefore, public service CNG Vehicle driver should have one week training course on CNG system.

ii.

iii. iv.

2. HIGH PRESSURE PIPE AND FITTING a. Only approved (imported) high pressure piping/fitting must be used in the CNG vehicle; because the breaking and dislodging of high pressure pipe and fitting are the main causes of fire in CNG vehicle after the accident. b. Improper installation c. The high pressure pipe should not pass from the passenger cabin in any public service vehicle. The pipe routing should either pass over roof or beneath the vehicle. d. Pipe-work must be properly installed on fixed part of the vehicle's body, preferably chassis. Care should be taken that there are no friction points which can damage the pipe due to intrinsic vibration of the vehicle. The intervals between two attachment points should not exceed 60 cm (1 foot). e. Corrugated pipe should be used to protect high pressure pipe from mechanical damage. Plastic fitting should be provided on holes made on the vehicle body so that the high pressure piping remains stable. It will protect the pipe from vibration and metal to metal contact with body of the vehicle. f. Suitable number of loops must be given whenever there is a change in direction of high pressure pipe and only one loop is enough if the pipe maintains one direction. These spiral loops will protect the pipe from vibrations and pressure shocks due to sudden change in gas velocity during accidents, which can result in damage and dislodging of the pipe from fitting. g. A manual shut off valve should be provided in the high pressure line in the vehicle where multiple CNG cylinders are used.

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Pakistan CNG Sector: Safety, Economics & Sustainability 3. CNG CYLINDER VALVE (3 WAY VALVE) AND ACCESSORIES a. Only approved CNG cylinder valves must be used. b. A Non Return Valve (NRV) must be installed between cylinder and the filling valve. It will prevent leakage of gas due to malfunctioning of filling valve. c. Dust plug should also be provided on the filling valve. Dust can damage the piston of the filling valve resulting in leakage of gas. d. Gas Solenoid Valve should be installed on the 3-way cylinder valve in order to stop leakage of gas from high pressure line which is going to the CNG pressure regulator, in case of accident. It will also depressurize the CNG kit when the vehicle is switched off. e. It is also recommended to integrate the Gas Solenoid Valve with the Accelerometer as it will work as an impact sensor. The Gas Solenoid Valve will stop the flow of gas once Accelerometer detects a collision. The Accelerometers are widely used in automotive industry in the air bag protection systems. f. Excess Flow Valve (EFV) manufactured in accordance with ISO 15500-14: 2002 (copy attached) specifications should be installed in all the public service commercial vehicle. g. Either Thermal Safety or Pressure Relief Device must be installed in the CNG cylinder valve. h. Cylinder valve should be installed with air tight cover and vented out of NGV. GENERAL GUIDELINES: a. Only approved CNG conversion kits must be installed in the Vehicle. b. Self-activating fire extinguisher should be provided in the public service vehicles at an appropriate place. c. Proper tools must be used for the installation of CNG system. Most of the CNG kit conversion facility does not even have torque wrench which is required for the installation of cylinder valve and mechanical safeties. Overtorqueing of cylinder valve can damage the threads of CNG cylinders in the long run besides producing unwanted localized stress; it can also make mechanical safeties ineffective. d. The electrical wiring/connection of the vehicle should be of standard quality and must be properly installed. e. Public awareness campaign about the CNG technology must be launched through electronic and print media.

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Pakistan CNG Sector: Safety, Economics & Sustainability

CNG is a serious business. A 50 WLC CNG cylinder at 200 bars stores millions of joules of energy in the form of pressure. Pressure of 1 bar is 1 kilogram force per centimeter square (kg/cm2) implying if the CNG cylinder has a surface area of 1 meter square then at 200 bar pressure it has 2000 ton force on it. A substandard cylinder can fail in a catastrophic manner similar to the explosion of TNT, releasing vast amount of stored energy by two ways, 1) shock wave 2) high-speed projectiles. High speed projectiles are the main threat and are primarily responsible for deaths, injuries and property damage. However, the effect of shockwave should not be overlooked. There have been many verbal complaints by the licensees and technical staff of the CNG stations that some departments are sending 3rd party inspection teams have engineers with no knowledge and experience in CNG technology. For this reason, there must be criteria of written test and practical assessment along with a minimum relevant experience requirement to become a 3rd party inspection engineer for CNG Sector. There was also wide spread corruption (esp. bribery) in inspections of CNG stations; this trend must not be passed over to the inspection of CNG vehicles. Corruption in CNG sector must be checked. CNG is environmentally friendly and indigenous fuel. In the fiscal year 2009-2010 CNG use resulted in saving of $1.6 billion through the oil import bill cut. CNG sector gas price is Rs. 840.8/MMBTU (651.8/MMBTU with 29% tax on gas bill); which is 14 times more than fertilizer, 1.4 times the commercial, 1.7 times the industrial and power sector tariff. The CNG sector only consumes 7.7% of gas and generates about 30% revenues for gas utility company due to higher tariff. Nevertheless, at present the CNG station owner has gross profit margin of about 25% as the gas cost is Rs. 40/kg only and its sale price is much higher. It is also worth mentioning that the government considers that the gas losses in CNG station are 11% whereas in actual gas losses are not more than 4%. In fact, Safe brand Italian CNG system guarantee 0% gas losses in their CNG station equipment i.e. compressor and dispensers. CNG also has a huge price differential advantage over road transport fuels. Presently, LPG is 2.5 times at Rs. 160/kg, Petrol is 1.9 times at 89.54/liter, HSD is 1.83 times at Rs. 98.82/liter compared to the price of CNG at Rs. 73.58/kg (comparison based on fuel energy content). Historically, the price differential of CNG over liquid fuels remained more than twice and there was money to be made for CNG station owner whose profit margin at one point of time was 50%. All this resulted in exponential growth of the Pakistans CNG sector. Few years ago Government reserved Rs. 5 billion for inter-fuel substitution of diesel to CNG, but this is achieved without spending a single penny due to the price differential of CNG over liquid fuels. The transporters have earned a lot from CNG vehicles as the fares are set on the basis of HSD price which remained almost double the price of CNG.

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Pakistan CNG Sector: Safety, Economics & Sustainability Natural gas has a very narrow flammability limits (5%-15%) and is lighter than air implying if a leak develops it is very likely that the fuel will disperse upwards in the atmosphere harmlessly. In addition, its ignition temperature of 630 oC is higher than other fuels. It is environmentally friendly with low carbon foot print; in fact it is the cleanest fossil fuel available today. It is non-toxic, it can be inhaled and it does not contaminate land and water. Hence, Natural gas is much safer compared to other transport fuels and if the accidents occur, these are due to human mistakes not because that CNG is inherently dangerous. Pakistan has established extensive pipeline and distribution infrastructure with about 3500 CNG stations and 3 million CNG converted vehicles. We consumed 1.277 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) in fiscal year 2009-10 out of which only 0.1 TCF were used by CNG sector. We have about 26 TCF of reserves, with Iran being in our neighbor having 1100 TCF and Turkmenistan 275 TCF, use of CNG as a fuel in our transport sector is sustainable and provides energy security; besides being economic, safe and environmentally friendly compared to conventional and other alternative fuels i.e. LPG and bio-fuels.
Prepared by:

Mr. Asim Riaz, Research Engineer/Visiting Lecturer MS Energy Engineering, IIU The writer has more than 8 years of experience in designing, evaluation, inspections and accident reporting of CNG station and CNG vehicle system/equipment. B.Sc Math Physics, B.E Mechanical Engineering, Master Energy Management Visiting Faculty Lecturer of M.S Energy Engineering, International Islamic University Former Visiting Faculty Lecturer for computer aided Engineering Design, NUST Member Editorial Board of Pakistan Journal for Hydrocarbon Research (PJHR) Team member for developing of Pakistan Integrated Energy Model (Pak-IEM) Contact: +92-345-5100667; [email protected]

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