New Hope Group, an Australian coal-mining and energy company, is trialling a diesel and natural gas hybrid truck at its New Acland Mine on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. The High Density Compressed Natural Gas truck was developed by Mine Energy Solutions and runs on an advanced dual fuel system. Diesel displacement above 80% has been achieved.
The technology uses sequential gas injection for the conversion of high horsepower diesel engines from 100% diesel to dual-fuel operation, using natural gas as the dominant fuel.
When a group of industry experts were given the opportunity to drive the truck and gain firsthand feedback on the performance of the Caterpillar 789C, the overwhelming conclusion was that there was no discernible difference in engine or truck performance utilising the HDCNG® dual-fuel configuration. The notable exception was the reduction in vibration and engine noise.
The mine haul truck is set up to utilise a ‘Swap and Go’ refuelling system which has been commissioned for durability testing at New Hope Group’s New Acland mine (see video of fuel replacement).
New Acland general manager David Vink said the trial was focused on finding at viable alternatives fuel to reduce costs and truck emissions at the mine. According to the Group’s website:
- Diesel displacement of 88.3% typical for full throttle operation up to 1750 rpm with peak of 90% set for trial
- Part load substitution figures around 80%
- Analyses of operating trucks on 5 sites indicate 82% to 85% average displacement over the drive cycle
The hybrid truck had been on-site at New Acland since the early August 2017 and fully operational since December, where it has seamlessly transitioned into the regular work roster that includes work shifts of up to 12 hours.
A link to the Gas Energy Australia forum can be found here: www.ngvglobal.org/events/. The HDCNG system will be discussed in the Stream 2 Innovation section of the program.
Source: New Hope group
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