50-Truck Project Is Said to Be a First in the CNG Sector
The Natural Gas Vehicles Texas project to convert 50 Mack trucks to compressed natural gas-diesel dual fuel operation for Florida’s Saddle Creek Transportation is expected to allow diesel fuel displacement of about 70%, says NGV Texas president Fury Zaidi.
“This is the first project of its kind that we are aware of in our CNG industry,” he says. “Both NGV Texas and Saddle Creek are totally committed to the success of this project,” Zaidi told F&F.
The project (F&F, October 20) calls for a complete refurbishment of the 50 trucks, as well as the dual fuel conversion, as follows:
- replace existing engine with factory-remanufactured Mack E7 engine and all new engine accessories;
- install low pressure CNG-diesel dual fuel system in engine compartment;
- complete paint and body work including, door jams, frame rails, wheels and cab;
- update interiors by replacing damaged parts and refurbishing old parts and seats;
- install custom CNG tank package behind the cab and on driver-side frame rail with propriety fueling module;
- affix new decals and signs;
- install methane detector and perform test;
- perform DoT safety inspection and necessary repairs; and
- test-drive with fully loaded trailer in real conditions for 500 miles.
NGV Texas is installing eight Type I CNG tanks in each truck, each with capacity for 10.7 diesel gallon equivalents: five in a back-of-cab array, and three (some trucks have four) rail-mounted tanks on the right side.
Total CNG capacity is thus 85.6 DGEs (or 96.3 DGEs for the nine-tank trucks) affording a combined diesel-CNG range of more than 650 miles, Zaidi says. NGVs Texas is using CNG cylinders from Vitkovice in the Czech Republic.
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