Scania’s Ethanol Diesel-Engine, Runs On Biodiesel Too
Scania (part of Volkswagen) builds modified, heavy-duty diesel engines designed to run on almost pure ethanol (E95, or 95% ethanol, with a 5% ignition improver).
If that sounds weird, that’s because it is. US auto manufacturers make a big deal out of converting cars and trucks to run on ethanol/gasoline blends of up to 85% ethanol. Scania has done better than that for 15 years, and guess what, their engines can run on 100% biodiesel too, without any modification.
Scania’s compression-ignition (CI) ethanol engine is a modified 9-liter diesel with a few modifications. Scania raised the compression ratio from 18:1 to 28:1, added larger fuel injection nozzles, and altered the injection timing. The fuel system also needs different gaskets and filters, and a larger fuel tank since the engine burns 65% to 70% more ethanol than diesel (whoa! see below). The thermal efficiency of the engine is comparable to a diesel, 43% compared to 44%.
While Scania originally introduced this technology for “heavy commercial vehicles in urban operation” (city buses), they’re now extending it to trucks as well. Scania maintains that with existing technology, the transition to renewable fuels can be painless. Since in the last 15 years they’ve put 600 ethanol buses on the road (mostly in Sweden), the company seems to know what it’s talking about.
Scania is also working to develop ethanol refueling infrastructure, which should make it easier for smaller transport companies to invest in ethanol-powered vehicles.
But why not use biodiesel, since ethanol requires about 1.5x more fuel usage? Scania’s answer may raise a few eyebrows: “the farming capacity [for biodiesel] is insufficient for the huge need foreseen for the transport industry.”
Unless you take EU spokesman Michael Mann’s comments seriously (he said that Europe can grow enough fuel to meet 10% of it’s transportation fuel), Scania must be betting on cellulosic ethanol. The intensifying food vs. fuel debate isn’t taking this issue lightly, as I’ve written about here and here.
In any case, Scania’s work seems to indicate it might not be as hard to create engines that run on alternative fuels as auto manufacturers maintain.
Posts related to Ethanol and Biodiesel:
European Union Defends Biofuel Targets As Food Prices Soar
Biodiesel Myth (Or Fact?) #23: Biodiesel is Raising Food Prices
Mercedes 40-MPG Diesel Hybrid: Cleanest SUV on the Planet
How Biodiesel Fuel-Cells Could Power The Future (And Your Car)
[...] Scania’s Ethanol Diesel-Engine, Runs On Biodiesel Too [...]
What an interesting! I love to hear the word Scanias Ethanol Engine Technology! At least that is what drag me over here (gas2.org). How I find? I was doing research on Google.com after typing Big Diesel Engines.
Dave Maloney wrote on April 16th, 2008 at 8:19 am 100 mil below the breadline, so what, their government’s fault for not being able to sustain a reckless population expansion in a competitive world. What do those poor 100 mil contribute anyway but riots and disease? Their land will be settled by more productive people when they are gone. People have been dying of starvation throughout human history and you think because we put people on the moon that it can not happen today. Some of these countries need to take responsibility for themselves if not they should be taken over by people that can run a country. If the voices of the people have decided they want rich countries to stay out of their affairs, it is time they finally listened to and let things play out.
Well Well Well! Why not take over Ethiopia? If it seems good idea let’s go, because Melez Zenawi is worthless. He can not full fill the need of his own people desipte the lush fields. Ethiopia is in famine and I think they been that way for long time may be last 100 years blus, Who knows.
Hi am working a Bus driver I don’t no how to working diesel engine already I worked scania busses side as a helper(dubai municipality uae) so I want answer how are diesel engine working
Not only dissapointing but comedic how many are just so serious about bashing ethanol and truly do not take any time to learn or read anything for themselves or understand an opportunity when its in front of them. People say raising corn is ineffcient. Do you raise corn? That corn isn’t wasted. Only new this time is that the ethanol potential is extracted from it before its bought as cattle feed. Yes, you heard correctly. Ethanol has had zero impact on the price of food. Why? Because that corn was never going to be eaten by you. Did you also know that ethanol and biodiesel actually make your equiment last longer? No, you didn’t know that either and so would auto manufacterures prefer that you did not know. Remember, its all about big oil and they hate ethanol. In fact, biodiesel plants get unsolicited bids by big petro all the time. These are the only fuels that you can truly stick it to them when you buy them. Food vs. fuel, give me a break. Learn about corn syrup 1st and see if you would agree, you need to use much less unless you already have diabetis?
Back to the discussion at hand, Scania should go on and mass produce these ethanol diesels, (or some wise nut should circulate the secrets on pdf on the net for all of us). I come from kenya, sugar factories are dying because locally made sugar isnt competetive against sugar from countries that SUBSIDIZE on their farmers, so, what the heck? why not convert all the sugar factories here to produce ethanol and send out Chevron , BP, Caltex, Oillibya …e.t.c
im sure the savings in oil importation will more than cover the cost of importing sugar from subsidized farmers.
- my two cents -
good afternoon, chaps!
here in Finland we do ethanol from waste organic materials, such as wasted/melted food and beverages. Of course that is not much by amounts, but it is still the waste, not away from food to be eaten. My opinion is that all potential substitutes for fossile-fuels should be get considered. We are maintain at the moment to convert the heavy duties to diesel-methane. Also now we are try for also with diesel-ethanol (as now we have knolidge that some bigger are also do so!)
I’m very interested in the ethanol diesel motor. Our company is launching an ethanol at the local level industry. Knowing that there is an alternative power plant available is good news. I wonder how hard it would be to convert Amercan made diesel to ethanol?
Amass all the intelligence we have, and build “Earth-Ark” survival units for humanity! Not requiring oil at all for survival - leave the “American Dream” the wild eyed commissioned sales propagandists ideal for us, and move to a practical and realistic set if ideals, including aquaculture, greenhouses, humanure to bio-gasses, and fertilizer sludges, and get away from the current “norm” completely! Movement from within the current structure, to an “off-grid” parasitic lifestyle is afoot, and growing, and as soon as some hidden patents and discoveries in the refrigeration and insulation fields are leaked and mass produced by China - no great respecter of patent laws and American Military wishes anyway, the off-grid phenomenon will flourish and snowball! When diesel fuel costs a soldier per gallon, and comes from China’s claims in Turkmenistan, through Afghanistan, to Israel, across the Mediterranean, and into New York Harbor, it will be for the exclusive use in the Uber-Rich folks limousines, not trucking food for the peons to be sure! America and the “American Way of Life” including the “American Dream” are doomed to die in the next short while, no matter what! We were an unsustainable blip in history and have reache the end of our fuel rope!
Ethanol is the alternative to oil based fuel, that’s af fact. Scania is ahead of the game with their R&D.
The future of ethanol is not in the corn crop. There are other sources . Crops like sweet sorgum,jerusalem
artichoke for starters. The sorgum yields about 400to
500 gallons per acre and jerusalem artichoke 600 to
1200 gallons per acre. The technology is there we, just need to use it .