Large trucks that haul heavy loads long distances or move massive amounts of material at mining sites typically rely on diesel-powered engines—except those fueled by ethanol, in part or in whole. From the ethanol-centric country of Brazil to the interstates of Iowa, engine developers are now designing and implementing new power plant options that can run and perform on ethanol without a lack of power. The strategy is directly connected to ethanol’s low-carbon characteristics and allowing big rigs to get big jobs done with lower emissions.Dual-Fuel Trucks Powered by Ethanol and Diesel To move iron ore at its mining operation in Brazil, Vale has announced a collaboration with two globally recognized names: Komatsu and Cummins. The goal of the collaboration is to customize the engines of iron ore mining trucks—vehicles of a particularly enormous size—to run on ethanol. The trucks will feature payloads of 230 to 290 tons (roughly the weight of 90 Tesla Cybertrucks). Vale hopes to work with its partners to convert existing diesel engines to run on a mix of ethanol and diesel that could reduce CO2 emissions by more than two-thirds with a 70 percent ethanol fuel ratio—a mix not unlike E85, but with diesel rather than gasoline. Cummins will develop, test and implement the engines for Vale. Luke Mosier, mining product planning and strategy manager at Cummins, says the partnership will be a fantastic way to use the company’s internal combustion engine expertise on a project that will further advance “future-ready technology.” For Vale, the emissions reduction piece is big, but so is keeping its mining operations running. “Removing a fossil fuel like diesel from our mine operations is fundamental to achieving our decarbonization targets,” says José Baltazar, engineering director for mine and plant operations at Vale. “Applying the solution to the existing fleet without the need to immediately purchase new trucks is an excellent way to move forward with the decarbonization process while also maintaining our focus on reliability and production efficiency.” Vale believes roughly 15 percent of its direct CO2 emissions stem from diesel emissions at its mines. Ludmilla Nascimento, energy and decarbonization director for Vale, said the company sees an opportunity to leverage ethanol, a readily available biofuel, as a competitive solution to its emissions issues. Part of the push to infuse low-carbon ethanol into its existing fleet goes back to the company’s goals announced four years ago. By 2030, the company said in 2020, it would invest $4 billion to $6 billion to reduce its direct and indirect emissions. Cummins has committed to what it calls the Destination Zero Strategy. It’s a commitment by the engine manufacturer to sustainably help customers navigate the energy transition using the company’s broad product portfolio. Komatsu also wants to help its customers transition to biofuel usage. “We look forward to partnering with our customers as we manage the transition to biofuels while maintaining productive operations [and achieving] our emissions reduction goals,” said to Benjamin Stear, director of engineering and product design at technology for Komatsu.Not A First Although Komatsu and Cummins are both excited to see the story unfold, both chose to hold comment on the project until it develops further and the engine developments have been proven in the field. For large trucks, what’s happening at Vale isn’t the first instance of ethanol being used. The concept has been researched—and proven effective—in the U.S. dating back to 1997. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs out of Springfield, Illinois, released a study in June of that year titled: “The Ethanol Heavy-Duty Truck Fleet Demonstration Project. According to the study, most information on ethanol-powered heavy-duty trucks was unavailable. Vehicle and engine manufacturers were testing the process, but not necessarily sharing their findings. As far back as 1992, the first fleet of four ethanol-powered, heavy-duty, over-the-road trucks were put into service, the report noted. The trucks were GMCs, equipped with Detroit Diesel engines rated at 300 horsepower. They used E95. Archer Daniels Midland Trucking Inc. used the trucks almost every day for deliveries in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri, and one of the trucks reached more than 325,000 miles without a major overhaul. The authors of the report offered a clear conclusion of the four trucks. “Ethanol engines are capable of the same, or better, performance, durability and emissions as diesel engines,” the authors wrote. The downside to running ethanol was related to the cost of ethanol compared to diesel at the time—the biofuel was roughly 1.8 times more costly than diesel on an energy equivalence basis—and the conversion required special engine parts and lubricants.Over-the-Road Trucks Using Ethanol Today In Sweden, Scania has been running ethanol-powered trucks over-the-road since 2019. The transport solutions provider has more than 58,000 employees across 100 countries. Its ethanol-powered version produces 410 horsepower and can reduce CO2 emissions by 90 percent. The engine is a 13-liter inline six that uses similar compression tech to that of a diesel to reduce hardware modifications. ClearFlame Engine Technologies, an Illinois-based company working to decarbonize heavy-duty diesel engines by upgrading them to run on super-high ethanol blends, has officially launched its products and services in the U.S. market and is booking revenue with clients. Ethanol Producer Magazine first covered ClearFlame in 2020, detailing the startup’s work to establish its innovations in both the over-the-road and stationary power markets. The company modifies diesel combustion engines—mainly the X15 produced by Cummins—to run on a wider range of fuels without sacrificing performance or increasing cost. To date, the company has focused its efforts on converting engines to run on E95 because of its low-emissions profile, scalability and availability. According to BJ Johnson, CEO and cofounder, ClearFlame is booked out on its 2024 units. The company is offering both “wet” and “dry” lease structures. With the dry lease, a customer will get an engine outfitted with ClearFlame’s ethanol tech. The wet lease goes much further and includes the fuel, infrastructure and maintenance. Above ground, skid-mounted tanks to store fuel are supplied at the customers preferred location. ClearFlame ensures the tanks will be fueled up and ready for dispensing. The customer, Johnson says, just pays one simple flat rate. Nearly 90 percent of the original diesel components stay the same, Johnson says. Fuel injectors and plumbing are the main changes. The magic of the system is in the proprietary control system developed by ClearFlame. Anyone could replace components, he says, but without their control system, it would be difficult to achieve the necessary torque curves and emissions levels; and federal compliance standards would be tough to meet.&nbsp; The altered engines still require DEF but don’t require particulate filters because ethanol as a fuel doesn’t produce soot. In January, the company sold its first truck to Vander Haag’s Inc. Vander Haag’s &nbsp;says its plan was to use the truck to deliver parts to its 11 locations across multiple states. “Vander Haag’s has been an enthusiastic development partner for ClearFlame because of the platform’s market readiness [and potential to cut costs while] using existing infrastructure,” said John Vander Haag, CEO. “Many of our customers don’t have the capital, infrastructure or light-duty cycles needed for EV adoption, and we see a massive opportunity to increase our market share by bringing customers the sustainability they desire without increasing costs." Johnson is proud of the fact that a truck upfitter like Vander Haag’s is using the ClearFlame technology. Their team is already eyeing large truck operations at mining sites. They are also considering the light truck market over time. Johnson wants to work with OEMs to develop an engine based on ClearFlame technology. “There are a lot of thin-margin businesses out there that can’t be disrupted, but they still need to be transformed,” he says. Technology like ClearFlame’s can help meet the emissions reduction goals of most industries without totally requiring a new approach. He also hopes the ethanol sector will continue to expand its understanding, promotion and potential use of ethanol-powered diesel engines. “If you look at the history of alternative fuels [like LNG] in trucking,” he says, “the reason we have those options is because the fuel sector pushed to support OEMs. I would love to replicate that with the ethanol sector.” “[Diesel] trucks are moving ethanol, for example,” he says. “Let's do that with ethanol-fueled vehicles. I would love to convert those to ethanol technology.” Several of ClearFlame’s engine techs and engineers are career diesel techs that are well-versed in vehicle powerplants. They know diesels, and they know how to alter them to run on ethanol, Johnson points out. Another important message relates to ethanol as a fuel. ClearFlame is an engine technology developer. They are not in the ethanol business. They would run their engines on anything suitable. But, as Johnson explains, ethanol was an easy choice. The fuel is already low carbon. It is available and, &nbsp;despite the idea that sustainable aviation fuel is the future of ethanol, Johnson believes there is room for the biofuel to grow with new technologies that rely on the high-octane, low-carbon profile of high ethanol blends. “We don’t need to turn this fuel into something else to make it valuable,” he says, “because it is already very valuable as is.” Author: Luke Geiver Contact: writer@bbiinternational.com &nbsp;

2024-08-29 - On the Bigger Side (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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No longer just an intriguing concept, ethanol is now being used in place of diesel, and along with it, to power everything from over-the-road tractor trailers to mining trucks with 290-ton payloads.

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