Myth 7: CNG will inhibit introduction of better engine technology in the future

The trouble with a complete switch is that Delhi would be saddled with today’s technology for years instead of phased modernisation which can be ensured by phasing out a proportion of a vehicles every year (Business Standard, May 21, 2001).


Fact

Moving to CNG will not only help us to get emission results comparable to Euro IV norms, it will also straightaway reduce cancer risk from diesel vehicles significantly.

Since CNG is a cleaner fuel, it is possible to meet much tighter standards within a short time frame and make a quantum leap.

In a situation where the government is content with moving at an extremely slow pace to tighten emissions standards, this contention seems almost pointless. Moving to CNG is actually helping the bus technology to make a quantum leap and catch up with better emissions standards fast.

If left to the designs of industry and government, very little advancement in engine and fuel is possible in the next 10 years. Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) in its road map of future emissions standards has given the following plan for meeting tighter emissions standards:

    Passenger cars:        Euro III in 2004
        Euro IV in 2007

    Multi-utility vehicles    Euro II in 2002
        To skip Euro III
        Euro IV in 2008

    Heavy duty vehicles:   Euro II in 2003
        To skip Euro III
        Euro IV in 2008

This shows that according to SIAM’s plan heavy-duty vehicles would meet Euro II norms only in 2003 and Euro IV norms as late as 2008.

The government plan to improve fuel quality is even more dismal. The new fuel norms under consideration for 2005 are at best by the government’s own admission, close to only Euro II fuel standards. Clearly, there is no urgency to catch up with world standards in the interest of public health. The tribe of detractors that includes MOPNG would have to admit that even the little improvement in the fuel quality that has been possible so far is solely due to the Supreme Court order.

Moving to CNG will not only help us to get emission results comparable to Euro IV norms, for diesel vehicles it will also reduce cancer risk significantly straightaway. There is no reason why we should wait for eight more years for Euro IV technology if by moving to CNG today we can get results better than Euro IV norms. In the meantime the Supreme Court orders have made it possible to get rid of the old pre-Euro I diesel buses replacing these and others with a much cleaner CNG technology. If the government now sets appropriate CNG emission standards in line with the European environmentally enhanced vehicles emissions standards then it will be possible to phase in much cleaner technology.

It is unfortunate that though CNG technology can help to meet much tighter emissions standards, existing emissions regulations for CNG vehicles are extremely flawed. The CSE experts panel report on CNG has pointed out that despite the fact that CNG is inherently a cleaner fuel our present emission regulations for CNG vehicles does not recognise this. Therefore, it has not been possible to get the best out of the CNG strategy. The CSE panel of experts have recommended that all vehicles either converted from old diesel engines or retrofitted with a new CNG engine must meet Euro II emissions standards. At the same time for new CNG vehicles Euro IV standards should be made mandatory in 2005 (same as for Europe), and simultaneously introduce Environmentally Enhanced Vehicles (EEV) standards with the help of economic incentives (see box: CSE experts panel report).

CSE experts panel report

Stringent emission standards and better certification procedures could be used to bring in better CNG technology faster

The CSE experts panel evaluated the current emission regulations in force for CNG vehicles as notified in the February 9, 2000 notification of the Union ministry of road transport and highways (MRTH), and found them to be extremely inadequate.

The current CNG regulations only require that converted buses should meet the emissions standards meant for diesel and petrol vehicles of their year of manufacture. This does not recognise that CNG is a cleaner fuel and can meet much tighter emissions standards. This also fails to ensure same conversion procedures.

Setting tighter emissions standards for gaseous pollutants for converted and retrofitted buses will eliminate the possibility of bad conversion that can lead to safety hazards. It is very important to ensure proper conversion as bad conversion can increase emissions of gaseous pollutants.

Therefore, the present proposal of mandating Bharat stage I norms for retrofitment of old diesel buses with new CNG engines is not acceptable. To ensure that the conversion agencies take care of wear and tear of the old bus through proper repairs and according to the manufacturer’s specification Bharat Stage II emissions standards should be made mandatory for vehicles to be retrofitted with new CNG engines and also for old engines to be to be converted CNG.

Euro IV standards should be enforced for CNG vehicles from 2005 (same as for Europe), and Environmentally Enhanced Vehicles (EEV) should be simultaneously introduced with the help of economic incentives for new CNG vehicles meeting stricter standards.

In addition to this requirements for durability testing, emission warranty and other commitments to be made by the manufacturer of the engine should also be laid down.

Each engine model should be separately certified

The February 9, 2000, notification also allows the extension of the type approval certificate to other engine/CNG-kit combinations than the one originally submitted for type approval. This is allowed as long as the engine displacement of the other engine is lower than that of the type-approved system, and within a certain range. This is possible for conversion of petrol engines fitted with carburettors, but not for converted diesel engines. As the current regulation has been interpreted, a conversion system developed and type approved for a specified diesel engine could be used on any other engine of equal or less engine displacement from any other manufacturer without any further type approval nor inspection. This can result in unacceptable exhaust emission levels, poor driveability and performance etc. The new draft notification from MRTH does address this issue but it is important to reiterate that certification is done model wise. The conversion kit and the engine have to be considered as a unique and optimised system. Engine converters must obtain a new type approval for each separate diesel engine model they seek to retrofit. Since the number of diesel engine models used in Delhi buses is small, — just three models, this would not pose much of a hurdle.