In an effort to reduce fuel consumption and its environmental impact, Volvo Trucks will begin testing heavy duty diesel trucks fuelled by a combination of methane gas and diesel in 2010.
The testing will take place in the UK and Sweden and will start with a mixture of up to 70 per cent methane gas. The remainder will be a bio-mix diesel – fossil diesel mixed with diesel produced from renewable raw materials. The company hopes to run on up to 80-90 per cent methane gas once the technology has been refined and tested.
It is hoped that the new technology, calculated over the whole fuel chain from production to use on the roads, could reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 80 per cent compared to traditional diesel operation.
Volvo Trucks has long been investigating ways to reduce fuel consumption – in August 2007 it presented seven driveable FM trucks adapted for use by different biofuels. However, following further analysis, it is focusing on two renewable fuels – namely DME and methane gas plus diesel. The solution is based on Volvo’s Euro 5 diesel engines – when the engines are converted for gas operation, special tanks are added for either LNG/LBG or pressurised methane gas with a separate fuel system added with gas injectors in the inlet manifold.
With a small amount of diesel injected and ignited by the compression, the need for a spark plug is removed which allows Volvo to make full use of the efficient diesel technology. If gas runs out, the truck can operate solely on diesel power.
According to Volvo, there are two main reasons for pushing gas-powered trucks – namely the cost savings and the strict environmental regulations in many towns and cities.
