Truck Topics
Your Truck Eats Vegetable Oil: A Look at Alternative Fuels
Electric.
Hydrogen. Hybrid. E85. Ethanol. Natural gas. Biodiesel. Good ol'
gasoline. The list goes on. There's an ever-growing list of things
we've been using as fuel over the last few years, and the market's
still trying to shake out just what the standard is going to be in the
future. There's a lot to it, and if you're planning to make a switch
to something other than gasoline, there's quite a bit to consider.
Why Alternative fuels?
The
phrase itself brings to mind lots of things, and most of those things
are pretty nebulous and not particularly well-defined, unless you do
your homework--which is pretty important, especially if you're
contemplating making a switch to alternative fuels, regardless of
whether you're an owner/operator or if you're in charge of a large
fleet.
There are many reasons to consider switching to
alternative fuels. Petroleum-based fuel is the 2nd largest cost for
trucking companies. The possibility of being able to re-use that fuel
in some way (or in any way, for that matter) means that you're cutting
costs somewhere, or at least helping someone cut costs somewhere.
Alternative
fuels also may reduce our dependence on foreign oil--and oil in
general, for that matter. This is something that's come up a lot in
the world of politics, of course--and it's a shame that the trucking
industry doesn't come up in these conversations more, especially since
commercial trucks account for about 20 percent of highway fuel
consumption in the U.S.
it's certainly important to consider the
environment and to "be green," so to speak, but if you're not staying
conscious about your costs and benefits, you're cutting into your
bottom line. And nobody wants that.
What's out there for the trucking/shipping industry?
So
what's out there and plausible for the trucking industry? If you want
to get into pipe dreams and "possibilities," we could be here all day.
In terms of plausibility, though, we're looking at a limited number of
alternative fuels.
Natural gas: With a little bit of
infrastructure change, namely a move to increase the number of stations
and with a stronger commitment from truck manufacturers to make more
Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs), this is something we could see.
E85/Ethanol/Flex Fuel:
There are vans available that run on E85, but as far as
I'm aware, there isn't anything currently out there for larger
commercial
trucks--surely because E85 and ethanol tends to be an alternate
solution for standard fuels as opposed to diesels. Also, the number of
gas stations carrying e85 can be limited from state
to state.
Biodiesel: Biodiesel is plausible and
fairly easy to convert for a standard diesel engine. Of all the
alternative fuel options being talked about over the last few years,
this seems like the most plausible and useful for the trucking
industry, biodiesel seems to be the most promising.
Electric and Electric Hybrids:
There are designs for commercial vehicles,
but there's not much beyond ideas. Implementation seems to be quite a
way away, especially with the state of batteries at this point--which
is to say, they're reasonable for passenger vehicles, but big rigs?
Not so much.
So, in looking at these options, we can see that
Natural gas vehicles and trucks that can run on biodiesel are among the
most promising horizons for alternative fuels in the trucking
industry. Let's take a quick glance at the advantages and
disadvantages they offer.
Natural gas vehicles
Advantages
Their engines burn methane/propane gas, and are thusly generally similar to a standard internal combustion engine.
93% reduction in CO emissions.
NGV's
are lots safer (gas dissipates into the air as opposed to flammable
liquid pools in the event of a tank rupture, for example).
Natural gas is 33% cheaper, and the costs are stable as opposed to oil prices, which seem to wildly fluctuate.
Less wear and tear on engines, since natural gas burns much cleaner.
Disadvantages
NGV's have much less cargo space b/c the cylinders take up a lot of room.
Limited
driving range; the averages I've seen seem to be slightly more than
half that of typical gas vehicles. This means gassing up more often.
Limited target audience; current infrastructures seem to be best for companies w/ fleets as opposed to owner/operators.
Biodiesel
Advantages
Renewable
Environmentally friendly, biodegradable, lower overall emissions than regular gasoline.
Helps to lubricate the engine, which means less wear & tear.
Can be used in most diesel engines w/ little to no modifications.
Safer--it's nontoxic and burns at a higher temperature, which means that it's less likely to combust where you don't want it to.
If you're feeling crafty, you can make your own biodiesel.
Disadvantages
Increase in NOx emissions, which can contribute to smog.
Possibility for clogging in the fuel line, especially w/ higher bio concentrations
Decrease in mpg and power.
Higher in cost than standard diesel.
Availability can be spotty in certain areas.
What are my needs?
In
the end, answering the alternative fuel questions comes down to
determining what your needs are. Since the infrastructure of the
alternative fuel market is still somewhat in development, especially in
terms of the trucking industry, now would be the time to start thinking
about implementing such fuels. That way, when the market settles and
availability widens, which it inevitably will, you'll be ready to adopt
the technology with open arms.
That said, if you're ready to
hop on now, biodiesel might be the way to go--especially since it's
particularly easy to convert a straight diesel engine (which is to say,
you might not have to change anything at all) to run on it (or even
Waste Vegetable Oil, for that matter). Couple that with the fact that
you can make your own biodiesel, and you're pretty much instantly an
early adopter of the technology.
Resources
Of course,
all this is about as brief an overview as can be. For more information
about alternative fuels, the following links could prove to be a huge
help
http://www.howstuffworks.com/search.php?terms=alternative+fuels
http://www.truckline.com/AdvIssues/Energy/Pages/default.aspx
http://fleetowner.com/green/curtis-donaldson-cleanfuel-usa-0406/
http://www.greentruck.com/
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
http://www.expeditersonline.com/forum/