Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile (DPCA), a joint venture between the Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng Motor Corporation and French automaker PSA Peugeot Citroen have organized a competition over 3 days which aims to push the "extreme sobriety" of the new C-Elysee CNG.
The Citroën C-Elysée is a basic variation of the ZX specially designed for the Chinese market. In 2005, the Elysee CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) has become the number one sales of CNG vehicles in China and the new C-Elysee CNG has been introduced on the market in 2008.
The competition has thus completed March 22 and last among the 4 finalists, the winner of the competition has traveled 1 756.8 km with one tank of gasoline and a gas cylinder, which accounted for 356.8 kilometers more than the goal initially set.
CNG is often confused with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as it is true that both are forms of stored natural gas. However, the main difference is that CNG is in compressed form, while LPG is liquefied form. CNG has a lower cost of production and storage than the GPL because it does not require an expensive cooling process and cryogenic tanks.
CNG requires a much larger volume to store the same equivalent weight of gasoline or oil and requires very high pressures (3000 to 4000 psi, or 205 to 275 bar).
