The use of natural gas is cheap, even without being subsidized, meaning that people can get good-quality low-priced product, while the government does not need to provide subsidy. It only requires easy supply access of LNG to the community.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The use of natural gas as an alternative to fossil fuel could be effective in reducing gas emissions by 20 to 25 percent, the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) researcher Hari Sumartono noted.

"Since 90 percent of the chemical composition of CNG, or (compressed) natural gas, is methane, so it generates less CO2 emissions than gasoline. It can be 20-25 percent less," he informed ANTARA here on Thursday.

He stated that three types of gas commonly used in Indonesia are Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).


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Taking into account the economic aspects of each commodity, the use of LNG or CNG is more beneficial since the products do not need to be imported to Indonesia, he explained. Meanwhile, the supply of LPG still relies on imports and is being subsidized.

“(However) the only hindrance regarding (the use of) CNG or LNG is inadequate infrastructure," the researcher stated.

Several advantages of using natural gas include its higher octane number, which can reach more than 320, as compared to gasoline, which can only reach 98. It means that the combustion process run by the engine will be better.

However, the use of gas fuel is still quite low due to various reasons, such as the lack of facilities and filling stations.

“Moreover, if we use CNG, we need a special tube since it has a very high pressure, which is 200 times the atmospheric pressure. Hence, the tube (used for supplying it) should be special, which is the thick and heavy one," Sumartono explained.


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In addition, LPG-fuelled vehicles are not allowed to park in the basement of a building since it will be dangerous if the gas leaked, he pointed out. LPG, which is heavier than air, will rapidly fill the basement room and can easily ignite.

However, if adequate regulations regarding the use of gas fuel are established and all gas-fuelled engines are ensured to work well, then there should be no problem in utilizing natural gas for the people’s daily activities, he stated.

Hence, the researcher expects that the government will encourage the use of natural gas nationally, as it is cheaper, especially for public transport vehicles covering long routes, such as taxis and buses.

"The use of natural gas is cheap, even without being subsidized, meaning that people can get good-quality low-priced product, while the government does not need to provide subsidy. It only requires easy supply access of LNG to the community," he added.


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Translator: Fitra Ashari, Uyu Liman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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