Omnitek to develop off-road heavy-duty vehicle engine capable of running on LNG
Published by David Rowlands,
Editor
LNG Industry,
The company will develop an 18 litre Caterpillar natural gas engine, which will be capable of running on low-carbon intensive renewable biogas (R-CNG), CNG, or LNG. In order to do this, it will use its patented diesel-to-natural gas engine conversion technology.
Olson-Ecologic Engine Testing Laboratories will act as the project manager, and will carry out thorough testing at its facility before demonstrations under real-life conditions.
The President and CEO of Omnitek Engineering Corp., Werner Funk, said: “Construction equipment is the largest category of off-road emissions in the South Coast Air Basin, accounting for about one third of the off-road NOx and PM 2.5 emissions, according information provided by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). Our goal is to demonstrate the cost-effective alternatives to reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, and facilitate fleet compliance requirements by introducing advanced technology natural gas engines to the traditionally diesel powered off-road construction industry.”
Funk added that the anticipated successful demonstration will be supportive of California’s AB 32, AB 118, SB 1250, the Integrated Energy Policy Report and the Natural Gas Vehicle Research Roadmap. He went on to say that heavy-duty diesel off-road machinery has a long service life, meaning that it does not need to be replaced as frequently as on-road heavy-duty trucks. The heavy-duty off-road machinery’s long service life results in a slow rotation of the fleet to cleaner technology.
Funk added: “We are advocating a cost-effective repower of existing older machines with Tier 4 compliant NG engines instead of replacing vehicles by purchasing new Tier 4 compliant diesel machines. Such engine repower is especially cost-effective when it is performed during a scheduled engine overhaul, or major engine refurbishing. Since OEM natural gas engines are not readily available for the largest of the off-road machines, diesel-to-natural gas (DNG) engine conversion is a viable and cost-effective alternative. For the lower-power off-road machines, on-road natural gas engines could be modified by the OEM and produced for off-road use.
“CO2, NOx and black carbon emissions from diesel engines, potent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, are abated when using natural gas, and our technology offers countries around the globe a viable and proven solution.”
Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/09022017/omnitek-to-develop-off-road-heavy-duty-vehicle-engine-capable-of-running-on-lng/
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