Hennepin County`s experience with heavy-duty ethanol vehicles
From November 1993 to October 1996, Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, field-tested two heavy-duty snowplow/road maintenance trucks fueled by ethanol. The overall objective of this program was to collect data from original equipment manufacturer alternative fuel heavy-duty trucks, along with comparable data from a similarly configured diesel-powered vehicle, to establish economic, emissions, performance, and durability data for the alternative fuel technology. These ethanol trucks, along with an identical third truck equipped with a diesel engine, were operated year round to maintain the Hennepin county roads. In winter, the trucks were run in 8-hour shifts plowing and hauling snow from urban and suburban roads. For the rest of the year, the three trucks were used to repair and maintain these same roads. As a result of this project, a considerable amount of data was collected on E95 fuel use, as well as maintenance, repair, emissions, and operational characteristics. Maintenance and repair costs of the E95 trucks were considerably higher primarily due to fuel filter and fuel pump issues. From an emissions standpoint, the E95 trucks emitted less particulate matter and fewer oxides of nitrogen but more carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. Overall, the E95 trucks operated as well as the diesel, as long as the fuel filters were changed frequently. This project was a success in that E95, a domestically produced fuel from a renewable energy source, was used in a heavy-duty truck application and performed the same rigorous tasks as the diesel counterparts. The drawbacks to E95 as a heavy-duty fuel take the form of higher operational costs, higher fuel costs, shorter range, and the lack of over-the-road infrastructure.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Trucking Research Inst., Alexandria, VA (United States); Hennepin County Central Mobile Equipment Div., Hopkins, MN (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-83CH10093
- OSTI ID:
- 578452
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/SR-540-22726; ON: DE98002773; TRN: AHC29806%%7
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: Jan 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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