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Scania Double-Decker Ethanol Hybrid Bus to Go On Trial in the UK
22 April 2008
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| Reading Buses’ single-decker ethanol-hybrid prototype. |
Reading Buses, the transport company owned by Reading Borough Council in the UK, says it will have a double-decker ethanol-electric hybrid bus from Scania fully operational and on the roads within the next 2 years. The concept bus has been going through refinements since last year and is currently only a single-decker bus.
Reading Buses currently has successfully trialed a double-decker bus that uses Scania’s heavy-duty ethanol engine, and will introduce a further 14 ethanol buses into service from this month. Scania, which has built more than 600 ethanol-powered city buses since 1989, currently has four single-decker ethanol hybrid buses on trial in Stockholm.
Scania’s ethanol engines work according to the diesel principle (compression-ignition, CI). At 43%, the thermal efficiency of Scania’s new ethanol engine is on a par with its diesel engines (44% thermal efficiency). The ethanol used for diesel combustion contains 5-7% additives that improve ignition and lubrication.
The third-generation ethanol engine is an adaptation of Scania’s 9-liter diesel engine with charge-cooling and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). The engine meets the enhanced environmentally friendly vehicle (EEV) standard, which is slightly stricter than Euro 5, the exhaust standard being introduced in the European Union in October 2009. (Earlier post.)
Scania uses a series hybrid configuration, combining the 9-liter diesel engine genset adapted to run on ethanol with a 150 kW traction motor and 4 125V Maxwell BOOSTCAP supercapacitors for energy storage. The current ethanol-hybrid concept buses, which also meet Euro 5 and EEV emissions standards, are the result of a three-year development project conducted at the Scania Technical Centre in Södertälje, Sweden. (Earlier post.)
Single-decker versions of the ethanol hybrid are designed to cut fossil CO2 emissions by up to 90% and reduce total fuel consumption by at least 25%.
The ethanol that is used in Reading is a by-product of the sugar refining of sugar beet in Norfolk.
April 22, 2008 in Ethanol, Europe, Heavy-duty, Hybrids | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)
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Comments
More like this, please.
Posted by: Hybrid fan | Apr 22, 2008 5:10:10 AM
Wow, this in combination with fourth generation biofuels and we have the mobility concept of the future: public transport, coupled to extremely efficient carbon-negative biofuels, with a bit of electric coupling.
Great work!
Posted by: Jonas | Apr 22, 2008 5:34:06 AM
But if we have cost-effective clean biofuels, why would anyone ride a bus?
Posted by: Matthew | Apr 22, 2008 7:09:36 AM
This coupled with the Finn's bus tracker phone system and allowing passengers to bring bikes on board is what is really needed to clear the air and free people all over the world from escalating transit costs.
Posted by: ken | Apr 22, 2008 7:22:29 AM
get those rainforests chopped down , plant more sugar cane.....
you could not make this up for lunacy
Posted by: John Baldwin | Apr 22, 2008 8:40:32 AM
Cellulose ethanol does not have to destroy rain forests and you know it. Making flaming comments does not help the discussion, it just prolongs ignorance.
Posted by: sjc | Apr 22, 2008 9:06:21 AM
Only complaint I have about said bus, is that it utilizes the series configuration instead of a more efficient parallel configuration.
We also need further progress in finding cost and energy-efficient processes to break down cellulose into simple sugars for fermentation to ethanol.
Posted by: Alex Kovnat | Apr 22, 2008 10:04:09 AM
John Baldwin, this old tune is getting boring. Sugarcane has nothing to do with rainforests. In Brazil, sugarcane grows 1300 miles South of the Amazon, in a state known as São Paulo State. Now grab a map and get an education.
The world is larger than your fetish, the rainforest.
Posted by: Jonas | Apr 22, 2008 4:22:11 PM
In reference to John Baldwin's comment about chopping down rain forests, I'm puzzled. The article states "The ethanol that is used in Reading is a by-product of the sugar refining of sugar beet in Norfolk."
I'm not aware of the existence of any rain forests in Norfolk. There's one in Berkshire which is where Reading is, but it's not every large and under glass.
Posted by: Steve | Apr 25, 2008 5:26:40 AM
