Construction World June 2015

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FUEL AND OIL

ALTERNATIVE FUELS

Renewed focus on

Using natural gas and alterna- tive fuels as an energy source for mobility has been widely proven to be cost effective and more 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. >

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, 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 • 40% lower NOx emissions, • Better fuel efficiency, and • Reduced fuel fraud risk.

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.

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.

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Murray Price, managing director of Eqstra Fleet Management.

CONSTRUCTION WORLD JUNE 2015