Research on the theory and application of adsorbed natural gas used in new energy vehicles: A review

Abstract

Natural gas, whose primary constituent is methane, has been considered a convincing alternative for the growth of the energy supply worldwide. Adsorbed natural gas (ANG), the most promising methane storage method, has been an active field of study in the past two decades. ANG constitutes a safe and low-cost way to store methane for natural gas vehicles at an acceptable energy density while working at substantially low pressures (3.5–4.0 MPa), allowing for conformable store tank. This work serves to review the state-of-the-art development reported in the scientific literature on adsorbents, adsorption theories, ANG conformable tanks, and related technologies on ANG vehicles. Patent literature has also been searched and discussed. The review aims at illustrating both achievements and problems of the ANG technologies-based vehicles, as well as forecasting the development trends and critical issues to be resolved of these technologies.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

adsorbed natural gas (ANG) / adsorbent / adsorption theory / conformable tank / natural gas vehicles (NGVs)

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Southern California Gas Company for funding the project that is related to this study. The authors also thank Professor Peter Pfeifer, Chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy of University of Missouri, for permitting to use some data generated from the ANG research project.

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