High-efficiency fast fill of compressed natural gas

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

As the cleanest-burning and lowest-carbon fossil fuel, natural gas is at the heart of energy discussions across the world. Given the increasing energy demand and high greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions associated with conventional fossil fuels, the transportation sector is a key market for natural gas. Compressed natural gas (CNG) stations have been built to fill natural gas vehicles (NGV) as fast as fueling conventional vehicles at gasoline stations. Due to significant temperature rise during fast fill, CNG cylinders can be filled only to less than 80% of rated capacity. The limited fill efficiency and the reduced vehicle driving range that results is a serious obstacle to the widespread adoption of NGVs. As the leading provider of CNG fuel systems for heavy duty vehicles, Agility Fuel Systems is looking for an innovative solution to increase CNG fill by more than 10%. Additionally, minimum added weight and low power consumption are required so that the solution can be easily integrated into CNG fuel systems With expertise in thermal management and flow control, the Electronics Cooling Lab (Dr. Sunny Li) and Computational Fluid Dynamics Lab (Dr. Joshua Brinkerhoff) at UBC Okanagan are collaborating with Agility to solve this engineering problem. The collaboration aims to develop a heat rejection system that can efficiently remove heat from inside CNG cylinders while the cylinders are being filled. Experimental, analytical, and numerical research will be carried out to investigate the thermal issues of CNG fill, and design, test, and optimize the heat rejection system. The project will increase the penetration of CNG into the Canadian transportation sector, thereby increasing energy efficiency and reducing GHG emission. It will bring significant contribution to Canada's sustainable energy and environment future. It will strengthen Canada's competitiveness in the world-wide NGV market. It fits into Canada's agenda to support industry competitiveness and supports Canada's aims for environmental protection.