Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/71813
Ford F-650 trucks will come with Roush propane systems by 2013, and the fuel already is used to power 33,000-pound BlueBird school buses. As with natural gas, the added equipment comes at a cost, but the fuel is cheaper than diesel. Ethanol Plant-based ethanol supplies also continue to grow in every sense of the word. The 209 ethanol refineries in 29 states generated 14 billion gallons of the fuel in 2011, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. That's up from 1.6 billion gallons in 2000. Since ethanol contains less energy per volume, a Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV) — equipped with corrosion-resisting fuel systems that can handle fuel with higher oxygen content — will see its fuel economy drop 25 to 30 percent when running on E85, which contains 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. More than 2,860 gas stations can pour E85, even though most supplies are at E10 levels. This supports light-duty FFV fleets in a large number of locales. Typical ethanol levels likely will grow to E15 now that EPA has approved the fuel for cars, light-duty trucks and SUVs built since 2001. Electric and hybrid Some light- and medium-duty fleets are looking at vehicles that abandon the traditional fuel tank altogether. PepsiCo's Frito-Lay — the seventh-largest private fleet in the United States — is deploying 176 Smith Electric Vehicles known as the Newton, a Class 4-7 truck that can travel up to 100 miles on a single charge, reducing traditional greenhouse gases by 75 percent. In contrast, hybrid options combine several energy sources in a single package. Most designs fall into one of two categories. The first is hydraulic systems, which use the kinetic energy from a braking truck to drive a combined pump and motor. The other category is electric hybrids. These use a combined generator and motor mounted between the transmission and the flywheel. The braking energy captured with the generator is stored in a battery, which can be used to drive the electric motor that can help move the truck or drive the power take-off. JULY 2012 OVERDRIVE 49 Navistar. "These are trucks that typically come home every night to the same location, and they're generally fueled overnight," he says. "That scenario lends itself perfectly to CNG. The trucks can be hooked up to a slow fill, fill overnight and the next day are ready to go." Running Class 8 trucks over the road is much different, Gilligan says. If the trucks are not coming home every night, they need enough range to get to the next available fuel station. "If you're running longer distances or need a more compact vehicle, you need to look at LNG because you get a better packaging on the vehicle and faster refueling times," he says. Circle 010 on Reader Service Card or visit overdrive.hotims.com