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| LNG fuelled road train – 122.5 tonnes, 36.5 metres |
Australia, WA
Western Australia’s growing liquefied natural gas (LNG) road transport
industry has marked yet another milestone. Long-distance freight
operator Regional Haulage, has placed its first LNG/diesel dual-fuel
road train into operation, putting the world’s first Caterpillar C-15
Clean Air Power (CAP) dual fuel conversion on a brand-new engine on the
road, and pulling what is likely to be the heaviest payload carried by
an LNG dual-fuel engine on the road. Fully laden, the road train
carries 87 tonnes, giving it a total weight of 122.5 tonnes with a
total length of 36.5 metres on 74 tyres.
Owner of Regional Haulage, Andy Burns, says he first started looking
at alternative fuels for the fleet three years ago, and committed to
the C-15 LNG conversion late last year, adding that with 35 trucks in
his fleet, mostly powered by C-15 engines, the choice of the CAP
conversion system was relatively straight forward. Funding
assistance for the conversions was provided by the Australian
Greenhouse Office Alternative Fuels Conversion Program (AFCP).
Another 10 trucks, already on order, have also been earmarked for
dual-fuel conversion. As with the first truck, a Freightliner Century
Class, all of the new trucks will be fitted with brand new
engines. Burns says that while many of the existing engines in
his fleet could be converted, his preference is to make the most of the
conversion systems by placing them on new engines. With an
expected life span of eight years at 180,000 km per year, he expects
the systems to cover around 1.5 million km on each truck in total.
The first truck, which was put into operation last week, has on-board
LNG storage of 1000 L and 700 L of diesel, more than enough for the
average round trip of 800 km. While it is too early for accurate
interpretation of fuel consumption data, Burns says he is hopeful of
achieving around 75% diesel replacement with the LNG. The company
will also commence an oil sampling program and is hopeful that it will
be able to extend oil changeover periods from 18,000 km to 30,000 km.
Burns says an important factor in introducing the truck to the fleet
has been driver training. “You can’t just jump in the truck and drive
it like a normal diesel engine. There are differences that drivers need
to be aware of, including things such as driving style and refuelling.”
Burns used a driver induction program provided by LNG retailer,
Wesfarmers Kleenheat LNG.
Initial driver response has been favourable. Though the company has
de-rated the engine from a potential 550hp down to 500hp, drivers say
they are more than impressed with engine performance. Burns estimates
that the LNG-diesel mix could be delivering as much as a 9% increase in
energy output.
Plans for an on-site refuelling facility, to be installed by Kleenheat
LNG, are well under way, with the facility expected to be operational
in about four months. In the meantime, supplies are trucked in and
dispensed on site.
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