Three Year Heavy Duty E95 Truck Test Ends in Minnesota
A three year test of heavy duty truck engines that operated on a blend of 95 percent ethanol and 5 percent denaturant found the trucks performed the same as diesel-fueled counterparts, but had higher operational and fuel costs and shorter driving ranges.
When compared to a diesel truck, the emissions on the two E95 trucks emitted significantly less particulate matter and slightly less oxides of nitrogen, but more carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
The two trucks were powered with specially-designed Detroit Diesel engines and operated year-round to plow and remove snow and repair roads.
The heavy duty truck test in Hennepin county Minneapolis, Minnesota was one of three heavy-duty ethanol tests in the Midwest. The Nebraska Department of Roads operated two snowplow/dump-trucks identical to those in Hennepin during roughly the same period.
In Springfield, Illinois, Archer Daniel Midlands operated several line haul trucks with the same Detroit Diesel ethanol engine as part of its regular fleet. A full report on that demonstration is available now and the report on the Nebraska test should be available in several months.
The projects were funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and in conjunction with the American Trucking Association Foundation's Trucking Research Institute.
The full report on the Hennepin project can be obtained through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Alternative Fuels Data Center hotline at 1-800-423-1DOE or on the web site: http://www.afdc.doe.gov/pdfs/hennepin.pdf. Information on other ethanol demonstrations and alternative fuels is also available at www.afdc.nrel.gov. For more information, contact Mike Frailey at 303-275-3607 or mike_frailey@nrel.gov.
