Bio-DME trucks from Volvo in unique field test

In 2010, Volvo Trucks will be the first truck manufacturer to start conducting comprehensive field tests involving Bio-DME, a biofuel that generates very low carbon dioxide emissions. In the long term it has the potential to replace 50 per cent of today’s diesel use for transport operations in Europe.

The field test is being made possible through a broad-based joint project involving, amongst others, the EU, the Swedish Energy Agency, fuel companies and the transport industry. The aim is to assess the potential of DME (Di-Methyl-Ether) as a vehicle fuel.

DME that is produced from biomass, known as Bio-DME, has both high energy efficiency and low greenhouse gas emissions all the way from the source to the wheel. The raw material used is ‘black liquor’, an energy-rich, highly viscous by-product of the paper pulp industry. By using Bio-DME instead of diesel as a fuel, for example, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by up to 95 per cent.

Volvo Trucks is participating in the project by contributing 14 Volvo FH trucks that will be tested by selected customers at four locations in different parts of Sweden between 2010 and 2012. Preem, the fuel company, will build special filling stations so the trucks can be used in regular regional and local operations. The first field-test truck was unveiled last week in Piteå, in northern Sweden, where production of four tonnes of Bio-DME per day will take place at the Smurfit Kappa Kraftliner pulp plant.
Same performance, minimal emissions
Volvo’s DME FH truck uses a regular D13 engine which, after some modifications to the tank system, injection system and engine management software, functions perfectly together with the biofuel.

“Behind the wheel, it’s business as usual,” says Mats Franzen, Product Manager Engines at Volvo Trucks. “The performance and driving properties are exactly the same as in the diesel variant. The difference and the major benefit with Bio-DME lie in its low carbon dioxide emissions.”

An ideal fuel for diesel engines
Compared with a conventional engine, using Bio-DME as a fuel provides the same high efficiency rating along with lower noise levels. The combustion process produces very low emissions of particulates and oxides of nitrogen. Therefore, a simpler system can be used for after-treatment of the exhaust gases. The engine can also provide higher torque at start-up and thus improve driveability. All in all, this makes Bio-DME an ideal fuel for diesel engines.

Modifications to the fuel system
DME is filled in liquid form and stored in pressurised tanks in a leak-proof system which keeps the fuel in liquid form all the way to injection where common rail technology is used to create the optimum high injection pressure. As the energy content of DME is just over half that of diesel oil, it has to be compensated for by fitting larger tanks.

“We are noting immense interest in alternative fuels among our customers and we feel that Bio-DME offers considerable potential. The field test will last three years and the subsequent evaluation will determine whether the project will lead to full-scale industrial production,” says Claes Nilsson, President Volvo Trucks Europe Division.