June - July 2001 - Logging and Sawmilling Journal -

A BC company is currently in the trials phase with a new engine technology which could see lower-cost natural gas being used to fuel trucks out in the woods and on the highway.

If a BC company is successful with its trials and the commercialization of its technology, natural gas could emerge as a viable-and perhaps less expensive-fuel option for trucks in the forest industry, both off-highway and on-highway. Westport Innovations of Burnaby, BC has already lined up some heavy duty partners and is well into the trials phase, including running its natural gas-based technology in a truck for a BC trucking firm hauling wood chips.

This past March, Westport Innovations and engine manufacturer Cummins announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture, with headquarters in Vancouver, to develop and market low-emission, high performance alternative fuel engines. Cummins is one of the world leaders in the design and manufacture of diesel engines and a major producer of diesel engines over 200 horsepower. In February, BCG eFuels and Chart Industries launched Canada's first customer field trial of a low-emissions heavy-duty truck using liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Off-highway and on-highway logging trucks could be fueling up with natural gas in the not-too-distance future.

The truck, equipped with Westport's proprietary natural gas fuel system, is designed to operate with all of the power and performance of a standard diesel fuel engine. Westport provided the truck to fleet operator Bobell Group of Aldergrove, BC which is using it to haul wood chips from Aldergrove to Bellingham,Washington. "Westport, with Bobell as a customer and with Chart Industries and eFuels providing infrastructure, is pioneering a path for natural gas to penetrate Canada's trucking industry," says David Demers, Westport's president and chief executive officer.

Trucking company Bobell Group is interested in seeing how the year-long trial goes. "Bobell is very keen to use this technology because no other low-emissions technology has ever been able to deliver the performance of diesel fuel engines," says Greg Mulvihill, manager of the Bobell Group. "Our initial impression is that Westport's technology represents a significant breakthrough and we are looking forward to verifying it under commercial hauling conditions." Chart Industries has provided a newly developed Orca refuelling station for the field trial. The Orca, a portable trailer, is the smallest of a range of LNG truck refuelling stations manufactured by Chart. "Because it can be quickly and inexpensively installed in a truck yard, the Orca is especially useful for LNG trials," says David Barr, Chart's vice-president of LNG systems.

Chart, a leading manufacturer of cryogenic equipment, also provided the two on-board storage tanks for the Bobell truck. LNG for the truck hauling wood chips is being supplied by eFuels, which is owned by Westport and BC Gas Inc of Vancouver. The LNG for the Bobell facility is produced by BC Gas at its Tilbury liquefaction plant in Delta, BC and is delivered by truck to the Orca refuelling station. The Bobell truck is powered by an ISX 400 horsepower engine provided by Cummins. Under a technology development agreement with Cummins, Westport has been working since 1999 to adapt its fuel system to the ISX truck engine.

An independent laboratory test in January verified that the engine with Westport's natural gas fuel system produces precisely the same power and torque as the standard, diesel fuel ISX engine. "Westport's low-emissions natural gas trucks are indistinguishable from standard diesel-fuel trucks in terms of ability to move cargo," says Westport president Demers. "This accomplishment, which no other alternative fuel technology has demonstrated, should allow Westport's fuel system to capture a sizeable share of the 250,000 heavy duty trucks sold annually in North America." Westport has had preliminary discussions with forest companies about using its engines in off-highway applications, but the company's focus is initially going to be on-highway haulers. "There's nothing about the engine that would be an issue in using it in the forest industry," says Westport's Alan Bayless.

The rough terrain and sometimes gruelling hauls in the backwoods would present no more of a challenge to the Westport engine than they would to a diesel engine. "This engine can do whatever a diesel can do." The only issue would be the availability of LNG fuel, and special stations-such as with the Bobell Group-would have to be in place to dispense the fuel. The range of the Westport engine-equipped trucks is between 500 and 800 kilometres, depending on the load and the terrain. One of the main benefits of the technology is that it is cleaner burning, resulting in lower emissions, a definite plus in urban areas. Bayless says emissions are not an issue in forestry applications, however, and the benefits would lie more in lower fuel costs for natural gas compared to diesel.

There could also be cost savings as a result of reduced maintenance and longer engine life, he added. The current trials should provide more information in this particular area. Westport technologies are based on direct injection and are intended to retain the high performance and fuel efficiency of the diesel engine while significantly reducing nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and carbon dioxide. Its natural gas fuel systems consist of three main proprietary components: fuel injectors, natural gas compression equipment and advanced electronic controls.

The company really had its start with work conducted by Dr. Philip Hill, a professor in thermodynamics and combustion at the University of British Columbia. Hill, who is now a senior scientific advisor to Westport, was investigating ways to retain the diesel engine's high fuel economy while reducing the harmful emissions associated with diesel fuel. Westport began in 1995 with three employees and the company now employs more than 160 engineers, designers, research and support staff. The company's 72,000- square-foot facilities in BC feature state-of-

the-art design, engineering and engine testing equipment. Since its inception, Westport has signed co-development agreements with four major international diesel engine manufacturers: Cummins, Ford Motor Company, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge of Germany, and Isuzu Motors Limited of Japan. Westport says its technologies have been designed to allow diesel engines to meet or exceed their legendary performance while substantially reducing emissions. At the core of these technologies is Westport's patented High Pressure Direct Injection (HPDI) approach. With HPDI, engines retain their valuable power and fuel efficiency while significantly reducing the output of unwanted emissions.

High Pressure Direct Injection relies on late-cycle high-pressure injection of a gaseous fuel, such as natural gas, into a diesel engine combustion chamber in exactly the same fashion as diesel fuel. The natural gas is injected at the end of the compression stroke, just as diesel fuel is injected at the end of the compression stroke in a diesel engine. The compression ratio and the un-throttled operation are maintained, so that the high combustion efficiency of the diesel cycle is fully retained. With LNG fuel supply, thermal efficiencies equal to diesel are achieved and the low speed torque and high-power output characteristics of diesel engines are retained.

The late injection prevents engine knock, according to the company, a problem that limits the performance and reliability of other alternative fuel technologies. Because it is not subject to knocking, there is much less sensitivity to natural gas quality, an important reliability consideration since natural gas composition varies significantly around the world. Because it is not dependent on an accurately maintained air-fuel ratio, the performance remains strong. For truck and engine purchasers, the acceptance of natural gas-fuelled engines will depend in part on expectations of the price differential between natural gas and diesel fuel. Simply put, for the forestry company operating a fleet of trucks or the owner/operator, are their fuel costs going to be less? The differential has generally been favourable to natural gas, according to Westport.

On a global basis, the reserves-to-production ratio for natural gas suggests the favourable price trend may continue, when compared with the reserves-to-production ratio for crude oil. Even so, the company admits the prices of natural gas and crude oil can be volatile and hard to predict. The volatility is a result of political and social circumstances, short-term supply/demand imbalances, unexpectedly severe temperatures, transmission/ distribution constraints and many other factors.

It will also be some time before the price of LNG as a vehicle fuel becomes as transparent as the price of diesel fuel. Right now, truckers can find diesel fuel prices posted at service stations on public highways, with continuous small adjustments based on local competition and other factors, including the price changes for crude oil. By contrast, however, LNG transactions are usually private matters between buyers and sellers. Commercial contracts often involve prices and volumes that can be fixed for periods of months or years, depending on commercial conditions and expectations when the contracts were signed.

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