UPS to begin using liquefied natural gas to power tractor trailers

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UPS to begin using liquefied natural gas to power tractor trailers

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 11:52AM

A total switch to LNG could save the US 1 million barrels of imported oil a day

UPS is to begin using liquefied natural gas (LNG) to power its tractor-trailers instead of diesel fuel. The more usual compressed natural gas is not viable for long-haul trucking because of the sheer volume required. LNG requires only about 70 percent more space than diesel fuel, while compressed gas needs about six times as much space as diesel, even when squeezed down to 3,000 pounds per square inch.

But natural gas chilled to 260 degrees below zero and squeezed down 600 times in volume is the company’s choice.

To replace the diesel fuel currently used annually for US highway travel would require about six trillion cubic feet of natural gas. (Current national natural gas demand over all is in the range of 22 trillion cubic feet a year.) By one estimate, switching to liquefied natural gas could reduce oil imports by more than a million barrels a day.

Westport Innovations HD Systems will power the trucks. The Westport HD System consists of the GX 15-litre engine, proprietary Westport fuel injectors, LNG fuel tanks with integrated cryogenic fuel pumps, and associated electronic components to facilitate robust performance and reliable operation. The Westport HD GX engine is certified and compliant to 2010 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board emission standards in North America.

The new heavy-duty trucks will be used in interstate operations for the Ontario, California toLas Vegas, Nevada route. U.P.S. plans to begin adding 48 liquefied natural gas trucks to its hubs in Ontario, Calif., and Las Vegas in the next few days. These will be 15-liter, 450-horsepower diesel engines, the biggest in common use on the highways. Like engines running on diesel fuel, they work without spark plugs, igniting the fuel through compression. Compression-ignited engines are more efficient than spark-ignited engines, so they get more work out of a given amount of fuel.

* SPECIAL AUTOMOTIVE,

* SPECIAL OIL & GAS,

* SPECIAL TECHNOLOGY,

Aalternative Energy |

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