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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
JUNE
2015
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FUEL AND OIL
Using natural gas and alterna-
tive fuels as an energy source for
mobility has been widely proven
to be cost effective and more
eco-friendly, and there are currently more
than 16 million vehicles globally operating
on alternative fuel. In addition the evolution
to alternative energy sources helps conserve
non-renewable energy sources such as fossil
fuels, which results in less consumption and
lower fuel prices. This has been one element
in the recent reduction of crude oil prices.
South Africa has been slow in adopting alter-
native energy sources, but there is a renewed
focus on using natural gas for mobility.
Various South African companies and public
sector entities have been working closely
together to create a renewable energy
strategy – the infrastructure to support this
initiative will be expanded exponentially in
the near future.
“There are currently less than 15 filling
stations in South Africa that offer CNG or LPG
re-fuelling facilities, and we strongly suspect
the lack of infrastructure is one of the main
reasons why most large fleet operators
have not yet adopted this technology,” said
Murray Price, managing director of Eqstra
Fleet Management. “Considering that CNG
and LPG offer substantially lower carbon
emissions and a fuel saving in excess of
40%, we would urge corporates to consider
adopting this technology.”
“In our view, there should be at least
20 to 30 sites in central JHB/ Gauteng alone
before it becomes feasible to operate a
regional fleet on CNG/LPG. Indications are
that this critical mass could be achieved
in the next two years, as more companies
convert to this alternative technology.
Despite this limited infrastructure, there are
solutions available to assist fleet operators
should they decide to take this route. Sasol,
for example, has added LPG fuel pumps at
certain of their fuel stations and with time
these would be more readily available.
In addition, mobile filling stations are avail-
able to corporates with a fleet size larger
than 50 vehicles,” he added.
In a number of case studies Eqstra has
established that using CNG as an alternative
to petrol realised a cost saving of 30,8% for
fuel over a distance of 3 000 km.
Other advantages of using CNG as an alter-
native fuel include:
• Abundant reserves of CNG gas are yet
untapped,
• 90% lower carbon monoxide emissions
than petrol,
• 25% lower CO
2
emission and 40% lower
NOx emissions, and
• Reduced fuel fraud risk.
Using LPG realised a cost saving of 4,13%
over the same distance. LPG is more readily
available than CNG. As it is refined from
petrol, it is subject to higher pricing, but it
also offers the following advantages:
• 75% lower carbon monoxide emissions,
• 85% lower hydrocarbon emission,
• 40% lower NOx emissions,
• Better fuel efficiency, and
• Reduced fuel fraud risk.
Additionally, in both cases many suppliers
will offer reduced prices based on useage
and VAT can be claimed on CNG transactions
as well.
Hydrogen injection offers a third alterna-
tive for diesel vehicles. Hydrogen injectors
inject a small amount of oxyhydrogen (HHO)
into the fuel before the ignition phase. The
HHO diesel mix has a shorter combustion
period which provides better efficiencies
and cleaner engines with a subsequent
decrease in carbon emissions.
Advantages of using hydrogen injection
include the following:
• HHO reduces carbon monoxide up to
90%. Carbon monoxide is a fuel and
HHO is a catalyst which promotes its
combustion,
• HHO reduces hydrocarbons between
10 – 90%,
• HHO reduces particulates, especially
organic particulates, between 10 – 70%,
• HHO reduces EGT(exhaust gas
temperature) from 50O – 150OF
(depending on engine load.),
• Only a small and very specific amount of
Renewed focus on
ALTERNATIVE
FUELS
With a global focus towards alternative energy sources to reduce
pollutants and greenhouse gases, renewable energy sources show
significant promise as an alternative transport fuel for fleets.
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Murray Price, managing director of Eqstra
Fleet Management.