Green technology is a buzz term that has been getting thrown around in industry for quite some time. In the industrial power generation sector, this usually comes down to the benefits of diesel versus natural gas engines. Caterpillar natural gas engines are some of the cleanest and most cost efficient engines with the best expense to horsepower and emissions to horsepower ratios on the market. These engines provide numerous advantages over diesel engines as well. Another point that separates CAT from other engines are the numerous technological advantages they provide for engine selection and set up as well as superior serviceability.
Diesel Versus Natural Gas
Natural Gas is attractive to corporations and individuals that want to use a fuel that provides lower emissions than diesel. The typically natural gas engine provides anywhere from 14 to 21% fewer SOx and NOx emissions than diesel, which is a rather large difference when considering the volume of industrial emissions there are. Outside of lower emissions, Natural gas is a cheaper fuel to utilize than diesel in most situations. It takes approximately 126.67 cubic feet of natural gas compressed at standard conditions to have the same energy content as 0.88 gallons of number two diesel. When back calculating cost savings, even with a reduced energy density in comparison to number two diesel, you have approximately 50% savings when utilizing natural gas over diesel. This cost savings is amplified in the current oil market due to natural gas prices that have failed to recover while crude has steadily made a comeback.
The CAT Advantage
CAT engines are some of the easiest to service and operate with customer support that blows other manufacturers out of the water. However, there is a major advantage cat provides that others do not; Electric Power Specsizer and Gas Engine Rating Pro [GERP] software. The Specsizer software uses proprietary algorithms to help determine the optimum generator set for your application. GERP is unique in that it will build a custom profile for an engine based upon information about your fuel composition, site data such as elevation, and even optimize your emissions should you have tougher standards to meet. No other manufacturer provides these types of tools to squeeze out the best performance from their engines. This alone solidifies CAT at the top choice for natural gas engines.
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