Cummins' Heavy-Duty Propane Engine Received 1999 EPA CFFV LEV Certification

Volume 6, Number 4

Cummins’ Heavy-Duty Propane Engine Receives 1999 EPA CFFV LEV Certification

On December 2, 1997, Cummins platform and designed for high dura- vehicles in various fleet applications Engine Co., Inc. of Columbus, bility at a low cost. The B5.9G natu- with operations covering more than Indiana, announced that its B5.9LPG ral gas engine has been in production 150 million miles in revenue service. is the first dedicated heavy-duty since 1994 and can be purchased Cummins received support to propane gas engine to receive certifi- through more than 30 vehicle manu- develop the B5.9LPG engine from cation to the 1999 Environ-mental various industry stakeholders includ- Protection Agency (EPA) Clean ing the National Renewable Energy Fuel Fleet Vehicle (CFFV) Low Laboratory/Department of Energy, Emissions Vehicle (LEV) standard. Natural Resources Canada, Propane This spark-ignited power plant fea-

Warren Gretz\PIX04762 Warren Vehicle Council, Propane Gas tures advanced electronic engine Association of Canada, South Coast management, closed-loop air/fuel Air Quality Management District and ratio control, lean-burn technology Superior Propane, Inc. Further infor- and integrated subsystems. The tech- mation on the B5.9LPG is available nology and subsystem are common from Cummins by phone at 1-800- with the current Cummins B5.9G, 343-7357, by e-mail at powermas- C8.3G and L10G natural gas engines. The Cummins B5.9LPG engine [email protected], or on the World The B5.9LPG is the first dedi- Wide Web at www.cummins.com. facturers. A few critical parts from cated heavy-duty propane engine the B5.9G engine were optimized available for bus and truck markets. for operation with HD-5 LPG The engine is rated at 195-horsepow- vehicle fuel. er and 420 lb-ft peak torque. Its lean- burn technology gives a thermal Cummins has 7 years of experi- efficiency that is much higher than ence with spark-ignition, lean-burn propane stoichiometric gasoline engines for bus and truck fleets. engine conversions. Production The company's alternative engines began in September at the Rocky currently power more than 2,400 Mount, North Carolina manufactur- ing plant where the B5.9 and C8.3 INSIDE THIS ISSUE diesel and natural gas engines are also built. Gasalarm Systems Introduces Series GS2000 Gas Monitor...... 2 Lessons Learned from the Ontario, California, LCNG Station...... 2 Like the Cummins B5.9 natural gas engine, the propane version is EPA Finalizes Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Emissions Standards...... 4 based on the heavy-duty B5.9 diesel The Cryenco TADOPTR Program...... 6 Gasalarm Systems Introduces Series GS2000 Gas Monitor

Gasalarm Systems has introduced detect these fumes. The system LED to light up and the buzzer to a combustible gas monitoring system controller features three alarm set- beep slowly. Beyond a 30% LEL, that can help advance alternative fuel tings and a separate diagnostic for the amber A2 LED illuminates and vehicle use in the trucking industry. detecting faults in the system itself. the buzzer beeps slightly faster. After The SERIES GS2000 monitor is Because the controller SERIES the LEL exceeds 45%, the red A3 designed to detect methane, propane, GS2000 is small (approximately 4 LED lights up and the buzzer beeps and butane fumes in such areas as the in. long, 1 in. high and 2.5 in. wide), very quickly. The alarm controller fuel tank, engine compartment, and it fits easily into the dashboard. It has an auxiliary relay that also can vehicle cab. With the new system, consumes very little power, and does be used to energize beacons or exter- the trucking industry can safeguard not require frequent calibration or nal horns. The relay activates if operators while increasing productiv- maintenance. The sensor(s) for the the LEL exceeds 45%. Users can ity, improving customer service, and SERIES GS2000 can be mounted in adjust the alarm systems from 0% conforming to the recommended the engine compartment, fuel tank to 100% LEL. practices set up by the Society of space, or cab, and has mud/splash For more information on Automotive Engineers (SAE) in guards. Each sensor has a miniature Gasalarm Systems' SERIES GS2000, J2343, Recommended Practices for 2-20 milli-amp transmitter with a call Gasalarm Systems Company, LNG Powered Heavy Duty Trucks. life expectancy of 1 to 2 years in Inc. at (281) 364-1988, fax them at continuous operation. Article 4.9 of SAEJ2343 recom- (281) 364-1987, or e-mail them at mends that trucks have a warning The systemÕs separate alarms [email protected]. system for potentially dangerous gas activate at varying levels of gas fumes in the cab and in the engine fumes. At standard factory settings, compartment. The SERIES GS2000 an alarm goes off if fumes exceed monitoring system is designed to 15% of LEL, causing the yellow A1

Lessons Learned from the Ontario, California, LCNG Station

One major challenge that must be with city officials that caused many tank pad. However, the city withheld overcome before building an alterna- delays. They learned that erecting an an operating permit for the liquefied tive-fuel storage and dispensing sta- LCNG fueling station takes very natural gas (LNG) tank and dispenser tion is surmounting all the adminis- careful planning, not just in design because more detailed design draw- trative and legal hurdles. Experience and construction, but in understand- ings were necessary. In addition, the in the city of Ontario, California, ing and adhering to regional and drawings had to be signed by a where a liquefied and compressed local code regulations. licensed California engineer. After natural gas (LCNG) station was the contractor provided the needed Foremost, all the necessary per- recently built illustrates the impor- information, there was an additional mits must be obtained and every tance of meeting these challenges in administrative processing delay, detail considered before construction the planning phase. The building causing the completion date for the can begin. To illustrate, in mid-April contractors for the site encountered station to be pushed back. of 1997, the city of Ontario approved unexpected administrative problems the foundation plans for the LCNG

2 Alternative Fuels In TruckingÑVolume 6, Number 4 The stationÕs compressed natural gas vessel pressure tested well, but one permitting process and obtain all (CNG) dispensers were installed in unit experienced electrical problems. the necessary permits before con- October. However, coordination diffi- Solving these problems caused addi- struction begins. Time should be culties arose with the electrical tional delays that, in turn, caused included in construction planning to inspectors which caused delays in postponing of scheduled training for allow orderly permitting to occur. A obtaining operating approval for the station operators. good plan should also include time CNG service. The engineers working allotted for the unexpected, such as Clearly, getting an LCNG station on the LNG service of the station material delivery delays and debug- constructed and running is no simple also experienced delays caused by a ging of systems. Building in the flex- task. Contractors have many legal late shipment of the nitrogen needed ibility to be able to manage the unex- obstacles to overcome before an to test the pressure and electricity. pected is a vital component of the LCNG station is operational. They Once the nitrogen was delivered, the planning process. must understand all aspects of the Warren Gretz\PIX02488 Warren

Refueling a compressed natural gas Dodge Caravan SE.

Alternative Fuels In TruckingÑVolume 6, Number 4 3 EPA Finalizes Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Emissions

On October 21, 1997, the U.S. Besides establishing new rules on Environmental Protection Agency highway diesel engine emissions, the (EPA) issued new emissions stan- EPA also modified the averaging, dards for heavy-duty diesel engines. banking, and trading (ABT) pro- Heavy-Duty Highway They will take effect in Model Year grams; clarified responsibilities of (MY) 2004. The EPA emphasized parties rebuilding or repowering Idle CO further reductions in oxides of nitro- engines; and adopted new in-use CO (percent exhaust gen (NOx), which are key compo- emissions control provisions. Year (g/bhp-hr) gas flow) nents in tropospheric ozone (smog) The ABT program modifica- formation. On a national level, tions are meant to add flexibility roughly 50% of NOx emissions 1990 15.5 0.5* and encourage engine manufacturers come from mobile sources, and the to make cleaner burning engines 1991-93 15.5 0.5* EPA wants to cut these emissions before 2004. New trading procedures from heavy-duty vehicles. 0.5* would eliminate current credit Federal 1994-97 15.5 The new EPA emissions standards discounting and life limits. 1998+ 15.5 0.5* cover engines used in urban buses Manufacturers can also generate and in highway trucks weighing credit for natural gas engines to more than 8,500 pounds and repre- offset diesel engine emissions. sent a 50% reduction in NOx levels Although the EPA issued these below the standards in force today. 2004+ 15.5 0.5* new regulations for highway diesel These new standards do not apply to

engine emissions, they are holding off Proposed federal off-road vehicles, marine vehicles, or on issuing new standards for highway locomotives. Under the new rules, Otto-cycle (spark-ignited) engines, all engines certified during and after 10/96 most of which use gasoline. The MY 2004 must meet either (1) a 3.0 agency is currently reviewing propos- combined non-methane hydrocarbon 10/98

als and looking for better technology European Union (NMHC) plus NOx standard of 2.4 that could further control emissions grams per brake-horsepower hour from heavy-duty gasoline engineÕs. 1987-90* 15.5 0.5* (g/bhp-hr) or (2) a combined NMHC plus NOx standard of 2.5 g/bhp-hr For a summary of EPA emissions 1991-93* 15.5 0.5* with no more than 0.5 g/bhp-hr of standards contact Jennifer Barker, 1994+* 15.5 0.5* NMHC emissions. The current rules U.S. EPA, Office of Mobile Sources, governing particulate matter will California 2565 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, 1994-95* 15.5 0.5* remain the same (0.1g/bhp-hr for MI, 48105, (313) 668-4510 or visit trucks and 0.05g/bhp-hr for buses). the World Wide Web site http:// 1996+* 15.5 0.5* The EPA expects that the diesel www.epa.gov/OMSWWW/ engine manufacturers can meet these nonroad.htm *This refers to a note concerning this entry. For standards. However, the agency has established backup regulations that can be set up if engine manufacturers have problems adapting to the new standards.

4 Alternative Fuels In TruckingÑVolume 6, Number 4 Standards

Engines—CI and Urban Buses

HC NMHC + NOX NOx PM Smoke* (g/bhp-hr) (g/bhp-hr) (g/bhp-hr) (g/bhp-hr) (percentage) Useful Life Warranty Period

1990-97+ for HC, CO, and PM: LHDDE: 8years/110,000 miles .3* 6.0 (NCP) 0.60 (NCP) 20/15/50 HHDDE: 8 years/185,000 miles HHDDE: 8 years/290,000 miles 1.3 5.0 (ABT, NCP) 0.25 (ABT, NCP), 0.10* 20/15/50 5years/1000,000 miles 1994+ urban buses for PM only: (but not less than the 10 years/290,000 miles 1.3 5.0 (ABT, NCP) 0.10 (ABT, NCP), 0.07*, 0.05* 20/15/50 basic mechanical warranty 1998+ for NOx: for the engine family) 1.3 4.0 (ABT, NCP) 0.10 (ABT, NCP), 0.05* 20/15/50 LHDDE: 10years/110,000 miles HHDDE: 10 years/185,000 miles HHDDE: 10 years/290,000 miles

LHDDE: 10years/110,000 miles 5years/1000,000 miles HHDDE: 10 years/185,000 miles (but not less than the 2.4 or 2.5 with a limit 0.10 (ABT, NCP), 0.05* 20/15/50 HHDDE and urban buses: 435,000 miles, basic mechanical warranty of 0.5 on NMHC (ABT) 13,000 hours, or 10 years (but not less for the engine family) than 290,000 miles)

0.19 42/2.26* 0.8 5.2 100/1.459* 0.11* 200/1.065*

1.3/1.2* 6.0 0.60

1.3/1.2* 5.0 0.25*/0.10* 5 years/1000,000 miles. or LHDDE: 8 years/110,000 miles 3.000 hours (for 1994 and 1.3/1.2* 5.0 0.10 20/150/50 HHDDE: 8 years/185,000 miles earlier engines greater than HHDDE: 8 years/290,000 miles 8,500 lbs and for 1995+engines 1.3/1.2* 5.0 (0.5-3.5*) 0.07* greater than 14,000 lbs)

1.3/1.2* 4.0 (0.5-2.5*) 0.05 the full text of this chart please see the EPA’s Emissions Standards Reference Guide for Heavy-Duty and Nonroad Engines.

Alternative Fuels In TruckingÑVolume 6, Number 4 5 liquefies, industrial and natural gases The Cryenco TADOPTR Program for a variety of purposes, including fueling trucks with LNG and com- For any alternative fuel to suc- through "boil off." This potential fuel pressed natural gas (CNG). The tech- ceed in todayÕs market, it must be loss increases the cost of LNG and nology is well suited for small lique- economically competitive with its reduces its economic competitiveness. faction capacities of roughly 500 to fossil fuel counterpart. With heavy- One solution to the problem is to 10,000 gallons per day (GPD). duty vehicles, the standard fossil fuel install a device that could reliquefy is diesel. The only competitively In 1989, scientists from the Los boil-off gas. Although the technology priced, alternative fuel in todayÕs Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to liquefy gases is not new, most sys- heavy-duty market is natural gas and the National Institute of tems must convert massive quantities (LNG). Liquefying rather than com- Standards and Technology (NIST) of gas to be cost effective. Using pressing the natural gas allows more first demonstrated TADOPTR. That existing technology to liquefy very fuel to be stored on a truck. demonstration was the joining of two small amounts of gas is too expen- separate, but synergistic technolo- From an operator's point of view, sive. Now, technology is emerging giesÑthe thermoacoustic driver however, the fuel price is only one which promises to solve the problem. (TAD) and orifice pulse tube refriger- component of the total cost of using In 1994, Cryenco obtained the ation (OPTR)Ñneither of which uses the fuel. Let us use liquefied natural rights to develop a new cryogenic any moving parts. LANL patented gas (LNG) as an example. LNG is a refrigeration technology called ther- the TADOPTR system, and in 1993, cryogenic liquid and is stored at about moacoustically driven orifice pulse Cryenco entered a licensing agree- -270¡F. As it warms, it begins to boil. tube refrigeration, or TADOPTR. The ment with LANL to further develop This means that if the fuel is not used unique process refrigerates, and thus the technology for liquefaction of quickly, some of it may be lost gases.

This TADOPTR prototype system currently liquefies about 150 gallons of LNG per day.

OPTR (orifice pulse tube refrigerator) liquefies the remaining natural gas using acoustic energy.

Burner system Resonator (8 in. dia.)

TAD (thermoacoustic driver) burns some natural gas to generate acoustic energy.

6 Alternative Fuels In TruckingÑVolume 6, Number 4 Cryenco has divided the federal contract from the U.S. TADOPTR project into two Advanced Research Program phases. Phase I involves devel- Agency, most of which also was oping a system with a liquefac- directed toward supporting Phase tion capacity of approximately I of the project. The U.S. 500 GPD. Phase II involves OPTR Department of Energy provides developing a system with a uses funding to LANL to pursue funda- capacity of 5,000-10,000 GPD. acoustic mental research on thermal acous- Both systems will be designed to energy for tics in parallel with Cryenco's fit on a standard, flat bed truck. liquefaction commercialization efforts. The TADOPTR system con- Cryenco is currently investi- sists of three major components. gating several potential markets The first is its power source, a for the TADOPTR. The potential natural gas burner. Next is the Piston driven uses include natural gas liquefac- TAD, which is a converter that by a linear tion at remote gas and oil wells, changes the thermal input power electric motor natural gas liquefaction at off- to acoustic power, like a pressure to generate shore oil wells, natural or indus- oscillation. The third component acoustic energy trial boil-off gas reliquefaction is the OPTR, another convertor at large scale storage facilities, that changes the acoustic power and others. Each of these markets into heat removal, or thermal has its own unique criteria and extraction power. One end of the operating conditions that should TADOPTR is heated to ³400¡F, be addressed. while the other end gets cooled A linear motor driven OPTR For the natural gas liquefac- to ²240¡F. The working gas, the working gas. In this way, the tion applications in particular, an typically helium, is the only thing OPTR pumps thermal energy from a attractive feature of the technology is that moves within the system. cold reservoir to a warm reservoir. that it uses natural gas as a power Creating a large temperature differ- source. However, Cryenco has ence across a short section of The three components of a expanded its program to include a pipe filled with a working gas TADOPTR each have a characteristic smaller scale, OPTR-based, refrigera- causes the gas to go into spontaneous dimension. The OPTR is a 500-GPD tion and liquefaction systems that use pressure oscillations. By using the unit that has dimensions of only a an electrical power source. The elec- continuous input of heat from a few feet. The burner is about 5-10 trical systems, orifice pulse tube burner to maintain the required tem- feet long. The TAD is roughly 40 refrigeration liquefiers (LOPTRs), perature difference, the oscillations feet long and a couple of feet wide. will have liquefaction capabilities are sustained. As the photo above illustrates, the OPTR is the front vertical section, from roughly 10 to 500 GPD, The OPTR operates on a modi- the TAD is the long tube in the although there are no technical limits fied Stirling refrigeration cycle, but middle, and the natural gas burner on going to larger sizes. The LOPTR the cold displacer in a Stirling system is at the back. The unit pictured systems are expected to address mar- is replaced by a gas column (or pulse is designed to produce about 100 kets which require cryogenic liquids. tube), an orifice (or opening), and a GPD of LNG. CryencoÕs evolving technology reservoir. These are all static compo- holds great promise for solving the nents that cycle the working gas Cryenco raised private venture LNG boil-off problem. Work is between a cold, heat-extracting heat capital funds to support the initiation underway to set up a field experi- exchanger when the TAD cools and of Phase I of the TADOPTR project ment to determine if the promise will expands the working gas, and a and invested considerable internal become a reality. warm, heat-rejecting heat exchanger funds in support of the program. when the TAD compresses and heats In May 1995, Cryenco received a

Alternative Fuels In Trucking Ñ Volume 6, Number 4 7 How to Reach Us

Volume 6, Number 4 ¥ The AFDC World Wide Web RenŽ Howard, Editor address is Lisa Shertz, Graphic Designer http://www.afdc.doe.gov ¥ The Alternative Fuels in Alternative Fuels in Trucking is published quarterly by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Trucking newsletter is available (NREL), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on the WWW at http://www. national laboratory. The newsletter is written by To speak to a human afdc.doe.gov/1/trknews It is the American Trucking Association FoundationÕs being, call the available on-line 2 or 3 weeks (ATAFÕs) Trucking Research Institute. National Alternative before the newsletter is mailed. Fuels Hotline at The aim of Alternative Fuels in Trucking is to 800-423-1DOE. inform fleet owners and operators, equipment suppli- ers, government officials, and other interested parties about important developments in the use of alternative fuels in heavy-duty trucks. Suggestions and comments are welcome and may be directed to the National Alternative Fuels Hotline at 800-423-1DOE. Views expressed by guest authors are their own, and not those of ATAF, DOE, or NREL.

NREL/BR-540-23965 June 1998

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