Automobile "oil to gas" is not easy to save money but has a lot of concerns

New energy vehicles can use electricity or gas. In the memory of Shenzhen people. The "Clean Car Campaign" allowed 5,000 taxis to use both gas and oil. However, in 2007, it bid farewell to the last gas station. Right now, natural gas vehicles quietly appear on the streets of Shenzhen, but the gas they burn is no longer LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) but CNG (compressed natural gas). The new energy vehicle with oil to gas was on the road again. Although the owners felt the convenience, they lacked supporting policies and the CNG that was just on the road could not be relaxed.

“The cost of fuel is saved by nearly half.” Two months after the “oil-to-gas” campaign, A-Chan drives the driver’s driver, Lai, to call “Fat gas cheap”. More than two months ago, Master Lai refitted his own Jetta car at a CNG (compressed natural gas) car modification plant in Nanshan, allowing the car to “drink” with natural gas. After two months of running down, the cost of burning gas plus occasionally burning fuel is less than 4,500 yuan; and before the refit, the monthly oil fee will be nearly 4,000 yuan.

The continued high oil price has caused many Shenzhen owners, such as Lai Shifu, to turn their attention to cheaper natural gas and took the idea of ​​“oil to gas”. The taxi driver who has tasted the sweetness of LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) is eager to pay attention to the revival of “oil to gas”. Open a local auto forum in Shenzhen, we can see "Shenzhen has a place where car oil to gas?" "How much Shenzhen CNG modified price?" "Where does Shenzhen have gas station?" And other inquiries posts. However, the absence of policy rules, imperfect infrastructure such as filling stations, predictable market chaos, and the lessons learned by other cities have all become the hurdles that Shenzhen has been eager to overcome.

The cost of low-cost modification of 8,300 yuan, running at a high speed of 0.36 yuan per kilometer "I am this year's CNG conversion in March." On November 10, the private owner, who declined to give his name, pointed to his Toyota Highlander. SUVs told reporters. A cylinder about one meter high is fixed laterally in the trunk and takes up about a quarter of the space. "The cylinder volume is 20 cubic meters and the cost of full gas is 100 yuan. In the urban area, you can run 180 kilometers. The cost per kilometer is about 0.55 yuan, and the cost per kilometer of burning gasoline is 1.1 yuan, which is just a gas. Twice," said Lee, running high-speed is cheaper, he had a round trip back and forth between Shenzhen and Guangzhou, 260 kilometers back and forth, 100 yuan of gas just run out. "The cost per kilometer is about 0.36 yuan."

For driving school vehicles, the cost advantage of burning natural gas is even more obvious. Master Wang of Shenzhen-Hong Kong Driving School recently returned to his hometown, where 16 cubic feet of gas traveled 350 kilometers of highways. "It's just like burning oil and it's too cheap."

The relative price of oil and gas has made many driving schools, taxi companies, and even private car owners in Shenzhen begin to seek ways to change from oil to gas. It is understood that a total of RMB 8,300 will be required for refitting a CNG vehicle in Shenzhen, including all costs such as gas cylinders, accessories and conversion fees. At present, there are more than three companies in Shenzhen that have obtained qualifications for vehicle cylinder installation and CNG car modification, including Shenzhen Hongyuan New Energy Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Yafang Automobile Service Center, Shenzhen Huajiang Technology Co., Ltd., and so on. Among them, Hongyuan refits driving school vehicles, and Yafang uses modified taxis.

On the afternoon of November 10th, Shenzhen Hong Kong Shenzhen Coach Training Company's five coaches started CNG refitting at Hongyuan's factory. Hong Hong, the general manager of Hongyuan, told reporters that so far, Hongyuan has made CNG conversions for more than 100 coaches in 14 driving schools. When talking with reporters, Li Hongming received phone calls from time to time: “Many driving schools and taxi companies hope to convert cars into CNG vehicles as soon as possible, which will significantly reduce costs for drivers and companies.”

Simple technology Mature workers complete the conversion of “oil to gas” in two hours, which is no stranger to Shenzhen people. In general, the clean energy that can be used for automotive fuels includes LPG, LNG, and CNG, and the “oil to gas” of these three types of fuels was or was in Shenzhen. appear.

As early as 2000, Shenzhen began to implement the "Clean Car Campaign." At that time, there was a large-scale taxi LPG conversion. By 2003, nearly 5,000 taxis in Shenzhen had been changed to oil and gas dual-use vehicles. It is the first to use LPG fuel buses in the country. Until 2007, Shenzhen completely halted LPG, and all 50 LPG buses were out of service. Modified taxis were either scrapped or refitted. There are two reasons explained by the media: fewer filling stations and remote locations; LPG is linked to oil and the price advantage is not obvious. Some people in the industry believe that environmental protection issues are also one of the reasons for stopping. If used improperly, burning LPG is prone to engine carbon deposition. In 2009, Guangzhou, the main pusher of LPG, fell into a dispute over whether “the LPG is environmentally friendly.” There was no definitive conclusion in the end.

After the suspension of Shenzhen LPG, public transport began to implement LNG buses and hybrid buses. In July 2010, 20 LNG container trailers appeared at the Yantian International Container Terminal. The trailer industry also began testing LNG. An industry source told reporters that compared to CNG, LNG "cooling" technical requirements are higher, the cost of gas cylinders is higher, more than 10,000 yuan, it is more suitable for bus buses, large trailers and so on. At present, natural gas is recognized by the world as energy-saving, low-pollution, economical and safe energy. In the context of the country’s increasing emphasis on environmental protection, cities with more “oil to gas” development, such as Chengdu, Lanzhou, Dongguan, Dongying, etc., have taxis. The industry is implementing CNG conversion.

The so-called "CNG modification" of fixed-type gasoline vehicles refers to the addition of a set of dedicated compressed natural gas devices to preserve dual-fuel dual-fuel vehicles, natural gas and gasoline, while retaining the original vehicle fuel supply system. This special compressed natural gas unit includes gas cylinders, filters, pressure reducing valves, electronic control components, refueling valves, high-pressure solenoid valves, and pressure gauges. The technology of CNG's car modification is not complicated. Li Hongming said that experienced technical workers can convert one car in two hours.

Registration process Gas cylinders are not subject to inspection, and change procedures need to be perfected. "Actually, CNG's gas cylinder production technology, installation technology, gas station specifications, etc. have already had corresponding national standards, and the technical level has been very mature." Since 2009, Avon has started to refit CNG cars, but due to careful consideration, only 10 taxis have been refitted after it was stopped. The person in charge of the plant said: “The operating data of these taxis is very high. Yes, but there are still many aspects of Shenzhen that need to be prepared for promotion. We have been waiting."

According to the national regulations, gas cylinders for vehicles must be inspected periodically. After the first installation inspection, a second inspection should be carried out three years later. After the second inspection, it must be inspected once every two years. The cylinder used for taxis should be inspected once every two years. In some cities in Xinjiang, regular gas cylinder inspection reports are one of the necessary prerequisites for vehicle owners to handle vehicle fuel change procedures. However, there are currently no periodic gas cylinder inspection facilities in Shenzhen. Because there were no scheduled inspections, some of the earlier Shenzhen private cars had been replaced with gas cylinders for two years based on safety issues.

The staff of the Shenzhen Special Equipment Safety Inspection Institute told the reporter that the inspections they currently provide are the first installation supervision and inspection of gas cylinders for vehicles, including data review and on-site inspection. The installation unit needs to hold the “Pressure Vessel Installation Qualification” and the installation project must be a CNG container. It is also necessary to provide certificates of conformity, quality certificates and inspection certificates for cylinders and accessories. On-site inspections include the appearance quality of cylinders, installation quality inspections, leak tests, and inspections of installation completion data. If it passes the inspection, the Special Inspection Office will issue a "Supervision and Inspection Certificate for the Installation of Gas Cylinders for Vehicles", and then can bring other relevant materials to register with the Bureau of Quality Supervision of the city where the vehicle is located, and apply for the "Certificate for the Use of Vehicle Cylinders". Li Hongming said that each vehicle modified by Hongyuan has this certificate, one vehicle and one permit, and the quality inspection department strictly controls the use of the vehicle to ensure the safety of the vehicle after its use.

It is understood that there is no request for registration of “fuel change” at the Shenzhen Vehicle Administration, and the registration process at the policy level has not stopped until the Shenzhen CNG refits automobiles.

The details of the annual review of the vehicle are unknown. Can we say differently? "In July, before the refitting, the vehicle passed the annual review of the Vehicle Administration Office. Now that it has been refitted for two months, I am not sure about the situation next year." Master Lai’s answer represents the situation of many CNG modified owners in Shenzhen: CNG car modification in Shenzhen is still new, the market has not yet been rolled out, the details of the policies are unknown, and there are not many precedents to follow.

In fact, in cities with rapid development of “oil-to-gas”, there are also two opposite cases in passing the annual review: After the private car “LPG to gas” (LPG) in Guangzhou and other places cannot pass the annual review, Urumqi, etc. The local government then released the policy to allow private cars to register for fuel change in order to pass the annual review. Before liberalizing the policy, many “oil-to-gas” private owners chose to remove gas cylinders to avoid censorship.

Shenzhen’s vehicle management department did not explicitly ban CNG conversions, but has not yet provided relevant formalities. The owner of a Shenzhen private car who had converted the car into a CNG car last year frankly stated that because the vehicle management department did not have related services, his driving permit did not go through the fuel change procedure. But last year his vehicle successfully passed the annual review: "Only the machine was overhauled and the lid was not opened."

On November 11, the reporter sent an interview letter to the vehicle management department asking if CNG modified vehicles could pass the annual review. On the 16th, the reply from the Traffic Police Bureau of the Municipal Traffic Police Bureau stated that “there are no relevant regulations for “oil to gas” for automobiles, and it is considered that the “oil-to-gas” violation of the law violates the “Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China”. "Regulations on the Implementation of the Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China" and "Regulations on Motor Vehicle Registration." As to whether it can pass the annual review, the Vehicle Administration did not give a definitive conclusion and replied that “the technical inspection of motor vehicle safety is carried out by the vehicle safety technical inspection agency and the business of the vehicle management department of the public security agency is responsible for the issuance of the inspection and certification mark.” When the vehicle management station issued the inspection mark for motor vehicles, it did not check the “fuel type”.

However, there are different versions of the conversion plant. Li Hongming told reporters that although Shenzhen does not have a definitive policy yet, the Hongyuan-modified driving school buses have already passed the refitted audits this year. They have passed: “The policies of different places are different. For example, Jinan does not need to apply fuel. Change procedures will pass the annual review, but Shenzhen's specific policies have not yet been introduced."

The number of gas stations is too small and there is an urgent need to speed up the construction of Lai Shifu's daily car for 10 hours. Every morning, he must first go to the Qingshuihe gas station to add a gas, and then start work again. He thinks this is inconvenient. "Shenzhen has too few filling stations."

At present, two CNG refueling stations have been built and put into use in Shenzhen. There are two CNG gas refueling stations at Moon Bay Avenue in Nanshan and the Qingshui River refueling station at Luohu. The Henggang Xikeng gas refueling station is located at the refueling station under construction. Six gas filling stations, including the Crown Natural Gas Filling Station at Chegongmiao, are all projects of PetroChina Deep-fired Natural Gas Utilization Co., Ltd.

At noon on November 10, at the Nanyou Gas Natural Gas Station, reporters noticed that not many vehicles came to refuel. In only 15 minutes, only two school buses and a private car were used to refuel. Each car has a gas refueling card of CNPC Deep Combustion Natural Gas Utilization Co., Ltd. The card contains information about the vehicles and cylinders.

Before refueling, workers first performed safety inspections on cylinders and lines. In less than three minutes, a private car filled up. At present, the unit price of CNG at the station is RMB 5 per cubic meter, and 12.79 cubic meters of refilling are displayed on the price list, for a total price of RMB 63.95. Xu Xiangbin, head of the station, said that the gas-filled gas station has 5 refueling machines and a total of 10 refueling guns. Its daily gas supply capacity is 12,000 cubic meters, which can meet the refueling demand for about 900 vehicles.

In addition, the Qingshuihe filling station has 8 air-entraining guns and it has officially refueled vehicles in early October. It is understood that the gas sources currently used by these two stations are all imported commercial gas from Qatar and Australia provided by Shenzhen Gas Group, and the price advantage is not outstanding.

Due to the air source factor, the construction speed of Shenzhen gas stations is not fast. On the one hand, the construction of filling stations is step by step. On the one hand, the demand for driving schools and taxi owners is constantly rising.

The person in charge of Avon believes that if the market is completely liberalized, Shenzhen is likely to have a CNG modified blowout phenomenon, which will lead to an increase in gas pressure. For example, he said that Dongguan currently has 14 gas stations and the city has more than 7,000 CNG modified taxis. Once the shift is over, a one-kilometer refueling team can often appear. In Chengdu, the "Winter 2010 bus and taxi refueling station and dedicated refueling period began" began last winter. Gas stations within the Third Ring Road are not open to social vehicles, gas stations outside the Third Ring Road, and refueling of social vehicles. Time is also limited to 24 hours a day to 7:00 the next day. “Shenzhen cannot take the old roads of other cities.” He suggested that “Gas stations and policies must be implemented first. Vehicle objects that are allowed to be modified must have certain restrictions and avoid the phenomenon of too many vehicles leading to no gas.”

The prospects for the reform of the vehicle will need to be regulated by the government. “The Shenzhen CNG automobile modification market is huge.” During the interview, Li Hongming always demonstrated his strong confidence in the Shenzhen market. According to statistics from the traffic control department, there are currently more than 2,700 trainers and over 15,000 taxis in Shenzhen. In the opinion of the conversion plant, these are potential customers. "There are private cars. This is a big deal."

At present, many foreign CNG car modification companies have come to Shenzhen to dig their gold. For example, Hongyuan has come from Shandong Dongying Shengli Oilfield.

CNG car modification, installation technology is not complicated, and the follow-up service requirements are very high. The person in charge of Avon told reporters that the “Quality of First-Class Pressure Vessel Installation” necessary for CNG refitting is not limited by the number of government departments, and the requirements for obtaining this qualification are not high.

The installation and inspection of gas cylinders does not mean that there will not be any problems in use. It also requires the professional and long-term after-sales service of the refitting plant. The foreign cities have seen the refitting plant where they left after “fishing for a ticket” and leave behind a pile of messes. .

Shenzhen's specifications for the CNG refitting market have not yet been perfected, together with the failure to conduct gas cylinder inspections, which have hindered the development of CNG in Shenzhen.

However, in the CNG car modification industry, regardless of conservative or positive attitudes, there is a consensus that this developing industry needs reasonable guidance and support from policies.

Relevant persons said that if the government can quickly issue specific rules, regulate policies and market order, CNG car modification is good for owners, for refitting plants, and for society.

Related Links LPG refers to Liquefied Petroleum Gas, CNG refers to Compressed Natural Gas, and LNG refers to Liquefied Natural Gas.

The main component of LPG is propane (more than 95%) and a small amount of butane. LPG is stored in liquid tank containers under appropriate pressure, and is often used as cooking fuel. The so-called home-use "canned gas" or "liquefied gas" is LPG. However, LPG is not a real gas, and the main component of gas is carbon monoxide.

The high-pressure natural gas that is compressed to 20 MPa natural gas is called CNG, and the liquid natural gas that is cryogenically cooled to minus 162°C is called LNG. The main components of CNG and LNG are methane. The advantages of LNG in liquid storage are obvious. The vehicle has a long driving range, but the production cost is high. The technology is relatively complicated compared to CNG, and it is more difficult to build a gas station. At present, CNG related technologies in the domestic automobile industry are mature in LNG.