Energy Innovation Small Grants
Development of a Fuel Sensor
Technology for a Variable-blend
Natural Gas Vehicle
PIER Energy Innovation Small Grants
http://www.energy.ca.gov/research/innovations/
October 2013
The Issue
Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) has been identified by the California Energy Commission (CEC) as an important alternative fuel that can contribute towards achieving a number of goals set by the State of California related to conventional fuel replacement and emissions reduction in the Transportation sector. Natural Gas Vehicles (NGVs) have achieved reasonable market penetration over the past decade. However, significant increase in the number of NGVs running on RNG is needed in order to make an impact on net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction. Most RNG projects are small to medium scale by nature and comprehensive gas cleanup/upgrading to meet NGV fuel specifications is often not feasible from a project economics perspective. Therefore, developing NGVs that can accept a broader range of RNG fuel properties is critical in order to achieve widespread RNG usage for transportation Project Description
This project is to determine the feasibility of development fuel sensing technology, a key technology that will enable NGVs to run RNG fuels with varying fuel properties. A critical factor in evaluating the interchangeability between different natural gas fuels such as fossil natural gas and RNG is Wobbe number . The typical calorific value of RNG from biogas or landfill gas projects is around 50% of equal volume fossil natural gas. To enable the usage of this typical RNG in NGVs without comprehensive gas upgrading or with limited upgrading, engine control parameters such as air fuel ratio, and injector pulse width have to be adjusted. This will allow the vehicle to compensate for the difference in fuel characteristics. The concept of ʺVariable‐blend Natural Gas Vehicleʺ(VNGV), which will allow refueling from a broad range of natural gas sources, will be developed. The vehicle would run on conventional natural gas, but could also operate on any arbitrary mixture of natural gas and RNG contained in its on board compressed gas storage tank. The key enabling technology for VNGV is an on‐line fuel Wobbe sensor. The concept of the proposed VNGV with fuel Wobbe sensor is shown in below. Conceptual Diagram of VNGV
A ruggedized, cost effective sensor array containing multiple independent sensors will be developed with the signal interpretation algorithm. The fingerprint of signals from the sensor array will be indexed in the algorithm with chemo‐metric method; the Wobbe number will then be indirectly identified in real time. Anticipated Benefits for California
With the successful completion of the project, a new, cost effective, key enabling technology for VNGVs will be developed. This technology has the potential to significantly increase RNG usage. Increased RNG utilization as a transportation fuel in NGVs will have a significant impact on California’s energy consumption and will also result in considerable environmental benefits, as discussed below:  RNG produced from landfill gas or anaerobic digester is the lowest‐carbon fuel available, according to a California Air Resources Board analysis.  Waste Management estimates that California’s current recoverable RNG resources could displace more than 900 million gallons of diesel fuel annually. That translates to more than 34 percent of the diesel fuel used for transportation.  In 2008, 31,000 NGVs operating in California displaced 115 million gallons of petroleum fuels, and is expected to displace 1 billion to 2 billion gallons by 2030. By utilizing the waste, around 50% of the natural gas demand can be replaced with the lowest carbon fuel, RNG. In addition, RNG as a transportation fuel for NGV has several advantages: Most of the natural gas used in California comes from out‐of‐state natural gas basins. In 2008, CA produced only 13% of the total natural gas consumed. Most of the natural
gas is imported from out-of-state sources.
Successful development of VNGV technology
will contribute to the attainment of clean air
standards in the California by increased use of
natural gas vehicle through developing the
new sources of RNG abundant in the
California, which can result in an estimated
10.5 MM tons of annual GHG displacement.
RDD 129
REV. 7/1/11
The commercial implementation of the
proposed technology will represent a critical
step towards the development of the proposed
VNGVs. Market growth in this area will
provide direct benefits to the general public
and a number of specific groups, including
automotive manufacturers that manufacture
NGVs. Aftermarket part manufacturers
providing NGV conversion kits will also
benefit from this technology.
Project Specifics
Contract Number: 500‐xx‐xxx Grant Agreement Number: 13‐02‐01TNG Recipient: University of California, Riverside. Location: Riverside, CA Application: Nationwide Amount: $94,407 Term: January 2014 to January 2015 For more information, please contact: Raquel E. Kravitz California Energy Commission PIER Program, Energy Innovations Small Grant (EISG) Phone: (916) 327‐1450 E‐mail: [email protected] Energy Innovations Small Grant Program Program Administrator Contact: Phone: (619) 594‐1049 Fax: (619) 594‐0996 [email protected]
Disclaimer
The Commission, its employees, and the State of
California make no warranty, expressed or implied,
and assume no legal liability for this information or the
research results.
Edmund G. Brown Jr., Governor
California Energy Commission
California Energy Commission
Public Interest Energy Research
Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller, Ph.D.
Executive Director: Robert P. Oglesby
1516 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-5512
CEC-500-2012-FS-XXX