Raley's LNG Truck Fleet

Raley’sRaley’sRaley’s LNGLNGLNG TruckTruckTruck FleetFleetFleet FinalFinal ResultsResults Produced for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a U.S. DOE national laboratory R ALEY’S LNG TRUCK FLEET: FINAL RESULTS Alternative Fuel Truck Evaluation Project by Kevin Chandler, Battelle Paul Norton, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Nigel Clark, West Virginia University March 2000 The authors wish to acknowledge the help and cooperation of the staff at the host site, and in particular Stan Sasaki and the Raley’s office staff at the Distribution Center. The authors also acknowledge Ed Gamache at Ozark Trucking, and the editorial contributions of Vincent Brown at Battelle and René Howard at NREL. World Wide Web: http://www.afdc.doe.gov National Alternative Fuels Hotline: 1-800-423-1DOE Notice This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, com- pleteness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States government or any agency thereof. Available electronically at http://www.doe.gov/bridge Available for a processing fee to U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. Box 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0062 phone: 865.576.8401 fax: 865.576.5728 email: [email protected] Available for sale to the public, in paper, from: U.S. Department of Commerce National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 phone: 800.553.6847 fax: 703.605.6900 email: [email protected] online ordering: http://www.ntis.gov/ordering.ht ii Final Results Alternative Fuel Trucks Table of Contents Executive Summary. v Overview . 1 What Is LNG Fuel and How Is It Processed? . 1 Alternative Fuel Projects at DOE and NREL . 2 The Truck Evaluation Project . 2 Host Site Profile: Raley’s Supermarkets . 2 Raley’s LNG Trucks . 3 Raley’s Involvement in Air Quality Improvement . 4 Project Design and Data Collection . 6 Raley’s Facilities and Bulk Fuel Storage . 7 Project Start-Up at Raley’s . 9 What Is a Diesel Equivalent Gallon? . 9 LNG Engine Issues. 9 Range and Fuel Gauge Issues. 10 LNG Losses to the Atmosphere . 10 Lessons Learned at Startup . 11 Evaluation Results . 12 Actual Truck Use in Commercial Service . 12 Average Speed . 13 Monthly Miles Driven . 13 Fuel Economy, Maintenance, and Costs . 14 Fuel Economy . 14 Fuel Cost per Gallon . 15 Fuel Cost per Mile . 15 Engine Oil Consumption and Cost. 15 LNG Fuel Cost Factors . 16 Changes in Diesel Prices . 16 Maintenance Costs . 16 Maintenance Cost by Vehicle System . 17 Overall Maintenance Costs . 19 Overall Operating Costs . 20 Warranty Repair Experience and Driver Complaints . 20 Driver Complaints . 20 Emissions Testing Results. 21 Cost Effectiveness of Emissions Reduction at Raley’s . 22 LNG Yard Tractors . 24 Summary and Conclusions. 25 Future LNG Operations at Raley’s . 26 Contacts . 27 References and Related Reports . 28 Appendix A. Fleet Summary Statistics. A-1 Appendix B. Emissions Test Results . B-1 iii Methods Raley’s leased its trucks from Ozark Trucking. Ozark’s personnel performed maintenance on the trucks and cooper- ated in the data collection. In addition to the eight heavy-duty LNG trucks, Raley’s used two LNG yard tractors at Executive Summary its Distribution Center. These yard tractors were very well-received by Raley’s Raley’s Supermarkets (Raley’s), a large operators. Data were gathered from fuel retail grocery company based in Northern and maintenance tracking systems daily California, began operating heavy-duty for more than 1 year. Here are examples trucks powered by liquefied natural gas of the data parameters: (LNG) in 1997, in cooperation with the • Fuel consumption Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality • Mileage and dispatching records Management District (SMAQMD). The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office • Engine oil additions and oil/filter of Heavy Vehicle Technologies (OHVT) changes sponsored a research project to collect • Preventive maintenance action and analyze data on the performance, records operation costs, and emissions, of eight of Raley’s LNG trucks in the field. Their • Records of unscheduled maintenance performance was compared with that of (such as road calls) and warranty three diesel trucks operating in compara- repairs. ble commercial service. The data collection was designed to Objective cause as little disruption for the host site as possible. In general, staff members at The objective of the DOE research proj- Raley’s and Ozark sent copies (electronic ect, which was managed by the National and/or paper) of data that had already Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), was been collected as part of normal business to provide transportation professionals operations. with quantitative, unbiased information on the cost, maintenance, operational, Results and emissions characteristics of LNG as one alternative to conventional diesel Both the LNG and diesel fleets performed fuel for heavy-duty trucking applications. the work that Raley’s expected of them during the evaluation period. The major In addition, this information should difference in duty cycle operation was benefit decision makers by providing that, on average, the diesel trucks were a real-world account of the obstacles driven more miles per day than the LNG encountered and overcome and the les- trucks, but were used for fewer hours sons learned in adapting alternative fuel and visited fewer stores per day than the trucks to a commercial site that had previ- LNG trucks. The LNG trucks were used ously been geared toward diesel trucks. for shorter, more numerous trips at gen- The field study at Raley’s was part of erally lower speeds. These differences DOE’s ongoing Alternative Fuel Truck affected the comparative energy efficiency Evaluation Project. of the fleets. v Alternative Fuel Final Results Trucks The LNG trucks were found to emit between fuelings. Fueling station lower levels of oxides of nitrogen and personnel and drivers indicated that particulate matter than the diesel trucks. they needed to know whether the By most other measures of operation, the truck had a full fuel load to maximize diesel trucks performed better than the usage and avoid problems with run- LNG trucks. The LNG trucks had lower ning out of fuel. energy equivalent fuel economy, greater fuel cost per mile driven, and greater Obstacles Overcome maintenance costs per year and per mile driven compared with the diesel trucks. One early problem with the LNG engines concerned their reliability in Overall, the operating cost for the LNG service. In response, Cummins, the trucks averaged $0.383 per mile, and the engine supplier, changed several compo- diesel trucks averaged $0.192 per mile, nents and provided technical support. giving the diesel trucks an advantage of Engine problems were settled within a $0.191 per mile. few months of start-up, and there were few failures for the remainder of the Lessons Learned evaluation period. The LNG truck evaluation project gave Drivers remarked that the LNG trucks Raley’s, DOE, and other participants the seemed under-powered compared to the opportunity to learn many lessons about diesel trucks. The LNG trucks had lower using alternative fuels. Some highlights available torque and lower horsepower follow: than the diesel control trucks, and this difference was noticeable to the drivers. • Commitment at several levels within the organization is essential. The LNG fuel cost more than diesel, and because Raley’s was using a temporary • Alternative fuel projects require cre- LNG fueling station in the early part of ative, forward-thinking planning, not the evaluation period, fueling was some- only to get started, but also to keep times inconvenient. Raley’s was con- going. structing a permanent LNG fueling • Learning about the fuel builds a good station with a larger capacity during the foundation for decision making. evaluation, but that station did not go • Comprehensive operating and safety into service until late in the year. The training is essential. For example, train- permanent station enabled Raley’s to ing the drivers of LNG trucks in lower obtain LNG fuel at an average cost that power engine operation was helpful. was $0.10 per gallon less than the fuel from the temporary station. • A team approach, including personnel within and external to the trucking Future LNG Operations at Raley’s company (such as manufacturer and vendor representatives), facilitates the At the end of the evaluation period, start-up operation. Raley’s was looking at options to expand its LNG fleet. Raley’s had held discus- • A natural gas engine with a higher sions with Cummins West, the engine power rating would have improved the supplier, regarding a joint research proj- implementation and operation of the ect to test one or two prototype 400- alternative fuel vehicles at this site. horsepower natural gas engines using • The LNG trucks provided lower than the Westport high-pressure, direct-injec- expected fuel economy, and thus tion dual-fuel technology. This test is lower than expected operating range planned to begin late in 2000. vi Final Results Alternative Fuel Trucks Overview What Is LNG Fuel and How Is It Processed? Raley’s Supermarkets (Raley’s), Liquefied natural gas is a naturally occurring mixture of hydrocarbons a large retail grocery company (mainly methane, or CH4), that has been purified and condensed to based in northern California, liquid form by cooling cryogenically to -260° F (-162° C).

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