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Home > Markets > Alternative Fuels > Swagelok Makes the CNG Connection
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Swagelok Makes the CNG Connection
When Kesar Yadav moved to Gujarat in 1979 and purchased S.R. Patel & Co., an Indian Oil petrol (gasoline) filling station in Vadodara (formerly Baroda), he never imagined that he would be a pioneer in the 'clean air' campaign his country launched in the early 1990s. But that is exactly what happened – with the help of Swagelok components.
 S.R. Patel has built a thriving business, providing petrol and environmentally friendly compressed natural gas (CNG) which has helped reduce air pollution substantially. Today, the company is planning to expand its CNG operation and credits Swagelok with a major role in the venture's success.
Emission Control
Alarmed by increasing vehicular pollution and an exponential rise in pollution-related diseases in cities, the Government of India implemented European-based emission control regulations for petrol vehicles in 1991 and diesel vehicles in 1992. The Gas Authority of India (GAIL) then launched a pilot project to dispense CNG in Delhi, Mumbai, and Vadodara. In fact, GAIL decided to set up a CNG station at an existing Indian Oil petrol station at Vadodara. That station was S.R. Patel.
Although GAIL helped S.R. Patel every step of the way, the decision to participate in the pilot program required “a lot of guts because we were getting into something quite unknown, but we accepted the challenge,” recalled Deepak Yadav, Kesar Yadav's son and business partner. “We had to spend a considerable amount of time, effort, and money on advertising and customer awareness programs to convince car owners of the benefits of changing to CNG.”
Swagelok Provides Leak-Tight Service
“We have been using Swagelok products since we launched the CNG station in 1991 and have never had any problems with them,” said Deepak Yadav. “In addition to their 'zero-leakage' performance, the products have been extremely durable.”
As with any business that handles combustible material, S.R. Patel must comply with stringent government rules and regulations. Inspectors make frequent, and often unannounced, visits to check safety aspects of the station. They have never found fault with a single component or fitting that could cause potential hazards. “With Swagelok components, my CNG station is much safer and easier to handle and maintain than my petrol station,” said Deepak Yadav.
Looking Ahead with Swagelok
“Based on the success of our venture, many more retail CNG stations are coming up in Gujarat,” said Deepak Yadav. “As we are pioneers in this field, they come to us for advice. We have always recommended Swagelok components and fittings for safe and trouble-free operation. We are now in the process of expanding our station, and Swagelok and Baroda FSC, an authorized Swagelok sales and service center, have been involved right from the planning stage.”
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Diagram of a typical 'daughter' station
1 Utility Gas Meter
2 Compressor
3 Storage Cascades
4 Priority/ESD Control Panel
5 Dispenser |
Station Components
Compressors: The compressors take the low-pressure gas and compress it to system storage, which will be anywhere from 245 bar (24.5 MPa) to 340 bar (34 MPa). They can also be used to replenish system storage capacity in some systems.
Priority/ESD Control Panel: Diverts the gas from the compressor to storage and from storage to dispenser.
Storage Cascades: Natural gas is stored in cascades. Cascades consist of either cylinders or the vessel. The gas is stored at pressure higher than the system pressure of the vehicles. The cascade is split into three banks: high, mid and low. The cylinders in each bank are interconnected with tubings looped for expansion and stress relief.
The amount of storage necessary will depend upon the compression capacity and/or the amount of gas to be dispensed in a certain time frame.
Dispensers: Dispensers dispense gas to vehicles either by slow fill or quick fill. The typical display in the dispenser is similar to standard gasoline pump – a read out of mass flow which shows equivalent unit (litres and price/unit).
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