NZ Transpacific truck converted to biomethane operation
A provider of waste and environmental services in New Zealand, Transpacific Industries Group (NZ) Ltd owns and operates Redvale landfill, where it captures methane gas. While most of the gas is utilised for electricity generation, a portion is cleaned to a standard suitable for use as a transportation fuel. A dual-fuel rubbish truck powered with this biomethane caught the eye of the judges at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority Awards in Auckland recently, reports the New Zealand Herald. The project was highly commended by the judges.
Using biomethane to replace about 12,000 litres of diesel, the Redvale Landfill rubbish truck reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 290 tonnes a year.
Transpacific, in collaboration with Greenlane Biogas, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and DieselGas International Ltd (designer/developer of dual-fuel systems for diesel engines), launched the project in 2010 to explore biogas technology and exhibit the potential benefits of landfill gas beyond current power generation uses.
Stephan Heubeck, NIWA Research Engineer, explained that the landfill has the potential to provide sufficient biomethane to replace 54 million litres of diesel a year. He added that using the gas for transportation is a much better use of the harvested energy; using it to substitute for diesel instead of electricity generation returns about six times the amount to the economy.
According to New Zealand’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, about 44 per cent of energy generated in the country is used for transportation.
