CleanFleet Final Report Fuel Economy, Vol. 4
12/1/1995
Fuel economy estimates are provided for the CleanFleet vans operated for two years by FedEx in Southern California. Between one and three vehicle manufacturers (Chevrolet, Dodge, and Ford) supplied vans powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), propane gas, California Phase 2 reformulated gasoline (RFG), methanol (M-85), and unleaded gasoline as a control. Two electric G-Vans, manufactured by Conceptor Corporation, were supplied by Southern California Edison. Vehicle and engine technologies are representative of those available in early 1992. A total of 111 vans were assigned to FedEx delivery routes at five demonstration sites. The driver and route assignments were periodically rotated within each site to ensure that each vehicle would experience a range of driving conditions. Regression analysis was used to estimate the relationships between vehicle fuel economy and factors such as the number of miles driven and the number of delivery stops made each day. The energy adjusted fuel economy (distance per energy consumed) of the alternative fuel vans operating on a typical FedEx duty cycle was between 13 percent lower and 4 percent higher than that of control vans from the same manufacturer. The driving range of vans operating on liquid and gaseous alternative fuels was 1 percent to 59 percent lower than for vans operating on unleaded gasoline. The driving range of the electric G-Vans was less than 50 miles. These comparisons are affected to varying degrees by differences in engine technology used in the alternative fuel and control vehicles. Relative fuel economy results from dynamometer emissions tests were generally consistent with those obtained from FedEx operations.
Fuel Economy Test Procedures Alternative-Fueled Automobile CAFE Incentives and Fuel Economy Labeling Requirements - Environmental Protection Agency - 40 CFR Part 600
10/1/1995
This final rule amends the fuel economy regulations to include alternative-fueled automobiles. The Alternative Motor Fuels Act (AMFA) of 1988 includes 1993 model year and later alternative-fueled automobiles (passenger automobiles and light trucks) in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program on a favorable basis to encourage the manufacture of these vehicles. The AMFA provides these CAFE "credits" for automobiles designed to be fueled with methanol, ethanol, other alcohols, natural gas, or dual-fueled automobiles designed to operate on one or more of these alternative fuels and gasoline or diesel fuel. Under the AMFA, these credits are only available for automobiles that meet certain requirements regarding: alternative fuel content (e.g., for alcohol fuels, a minimum of 85 percent by volume alcohol), energy efficiency, and driving range. Neither the AMFA nor the final rule will affect automobiles that do not meet these requirements; such vehicles would not receive the favorable CAFE treatment. Alternative-fueled automobile labeling requirements are also specified in the AMFA. This final rule codifies the requirements of the AMFA in 40 CFR part 600. Recently, AMFA was amended by the Energy Policy Act of 1992, to extend the CAFE credit to automobiles designed to operate on additional types of alternative fuels. However, this final rule does not include these additional alternative fuel types, as they were not included in the CAFE program at the time the NPRM was published and the final rule was developed.
Notes: Text of final rule to be published in the Federal Register
AFDC Update: News of the Alternative Fuels Data Center (Vol. 3, Iss. 2)
10/1/1994
This issue includes articles on: 1) emissions testing of Dodge Spirit FFVs; 2) the EPA's issuance of final gaseous fuel emissions standards; 3) the AFDC's new option for retrieving data; 4) emissions data which show varied results on 1992 CNG/gasoline conversions; 5) downloading files from the AFDC for non-internet users; 6) accessing the AFDC through the internet; 7) a new methanol video from DOE, NREL, and Los Angeles MTA; 8) an EPACT update; and 9) upcoming meetings and conferences.
Impacts of Alternative Fuels on Air Quality
6/1/1994
The objective of this project was to determine the impact of alternative fuels on air quality, particularly ozone formation. The alternative fuels of interest are methanol, ethanol, liquefied petroleum gas, and natural gas. During the first year of study, researchers obtained qualitative data on the thermal degradation products from the fuel-lean (oxidative), stoichiometric, and fuel-rich (pyrolytic) decomposition of methanol and ethanol. The thermal degradation of ethanol produced a substantially larger number of intermediate organic by-products than the similar thermal degradation of methanol, and the organic intermediate by-products lacked stability. Also, a qualitative comparison of the UDRI flow reactor data with previous engine test showed that, for methanol, formaldehyde and acetone were the organic by-products observed in both types of tests; for ethanol, only very limited data were located.
Authors: Taylor, P. H.;Dellinger, B.
Advanced Hydrogen Utilization Technology Demonstration
6/1/1994
This report presents the results of a study done by Detroit Diesel Corporation (DDC). DDC used a 6V-92TA engine for experiments with hydrogen fuel. The engine was first baseline tested using methanol fuel and methanol unit injectors. One cylinder of the engine was converted to operate on hydrogen fuel, and methanol fueled the remaining five cylinders. This early testing with only one hydrogen-fueled cylinder was conducted to determine the operating parameters that would later be implemented for multicylinder hydrogen operation. Researchers then operated three cylinders of the engine on hydrogen fuel to verify single-cylinder idle tests. Once it was determined that the engine would operate well at idle, the engine was modified to operate with all six cylinders fueled with hydrogen. Six-cylinder operation on hydrogen provided an opportunity to verify previous test results and to more accurately determine the performance, thermal efficiency, and emissions of the engine.
Authors: Hedrick, J.C.;Winsor, R.E.
Hydrogen Air Mixing Evaluation in Reciprocating Engines
6/1/1994
This report presents the results of a computational study of fuel-air mixing in a hydrogen jet using a spark-ignited, hydrogen-fueled engine. The computational results were compared with experimental measurements being conducted at the Musashi Institute of Technology in Tokyo, Japan. The hydrogen-air mixing work was directed at understanding the extreme sensitivity of ignition to spark plug location and spark timing in direc-injected, hydrogen-fueled engines.
Authors: Dodge, L.;Naegeli, D.
AFDC Update: News of the Alternative Fuels Data Center (Vol. 3, Iss. 1)
4/1/1994
This issue includes articles on: 1) AMFA heavy-duty data which indicates that E95 and CNG fuel economies are virtually the same as diesel; 2) DOE funding of a heavy-duty demonstration program; 3) DOE funding efforts for a safe school bus; 4) hotline inquiries; and 5) the comparison of fuel economies of light-duty AFVs.
AFDC Update: News of the Alternative Fuels Data Center (Vol. 2, Iss. 2)
7/1/1993
This issue includes articles on: 1) the growth of the AFDC; 2) new AFDC software; 3) AFDC's provision of state AFV purchasing plans; 4) the WVU transportable lab; 5) the availability of heavy-duty emissions data; 6) the collection of heavy duty AFV performance data; and 7) the hotline's responses to tax questions.
AFDC Update: News of the Alternative Fuels Data Center (Vol. 2, Iss. 1)
3/1/1993
This issue includes articles on: 1) the inclusion of transit buses and operational data in the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC); 2) AFDC's information sharing with fleet operators; 3) preparation of a CNG safety video by DOE and NREL; 4) EPACT's expansion of the role of OTT and AFDC; 5) a concentrated demonstration program beginning in Atlanta; 6) the promising emission results of M85; 7) DOE expansion of light-duty vehicle emissions testing; 8) hotline responses to EPACT questions; and 9) funding for vehicle conversion and fuel supply services.