Engineering and Mining Journal - Whether the market is copper, gold, nickel, iron ore, lead/zinc, PGM, diamonds or other commodities, E&MJ takes the lead in projecting trends, following development and reporting on the most efficient operating pr
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DIESEL ENGINES Cummins Dual Fuel technology provides an opportunity for a dramatic reduction in dol- lars spent on fuel while retaining the same power and durability customers have come to expect from Cummins diesel engines," said Levett. Cummins' QSK60 will be its first mining engine model released with the company's Dual-Fuel technology. retrofit solutions for those who opt to con- vert existing mining trucks and locomotives to natural gas. Longer term, the company expects to use natural gas technologies in other mining products. Designing for Dual-fuel Applications Cummins also announced plans to produce dual-fuel engines for haul trucks. The first engine in the Cummins Dual Fuel portfolio for mining is the QSK60, with other QSK Series engines to follow, including engines capable of meeting EPA Tier 4 Final emis- sions standards. A release date will be announced in the coming months. The QSK60, with output of 1,782– 2,850 hp (1,329–2,125 kW), is currently available in standard and high-altitude configurations; according to Cummins, both versions will be capable of substan- tially reducing fuel costs with Cummins Dual Fuel technology. Cummins said its Dual Fuel engines will use integrated controls that optimize the fuel-substitution rate based on operat- ing conditions, and will seamlessly and automatically transition between diesel fuel and dual-fuel modes. Cummins Dual Fuel technology enables mining equip- ment to operate in 100% diesel fuel or in dual-fuel mode, giving the customer flexi- bility depending on natural gas availability at the mine site. "The rapid expansion and abundance of natural gas in many areas of the world has driven a dramatic cost advantage of natural gas over diesel fuel. The ability to substitute diesel fuel with natural gas drives down the total cost of ownership of equipment," said Mark Levett, vice president–Cummins High-Horsepower Business. "For operators of high-horsepower min- ing equipment where power density is crit- ical and large quantities of fuel are burned, 50 E&MJ; • NOVEMBER 2012 GFS Corp. offers natural gas-fuel conversion kits for two popular models of Cat haul trucks. www.e-mj.com In dual-fuel mode, the substitution rate, which is the percentage of natural gas rela- tive to total fuel flow, is the critical param- eter to fuel savings. In typical operating conditions, engines with Cummins Dual Fuel technology can be expected to deliver a maximum substitution rate of 70%. David Geraghty, executive director– Cummins Mining Business, said, "Engines with Cummins Dual Fuel technology retain the same transient response as a diesel engine, remain on the same torque curve as a diesel engine, and match diesel engine power output while maintaining current service intervals. This technology not only delivers the uptime customers have come to expect from us, but also delivers a rapid return on investment, making it very attrac- tive to mines around the world." Tognum's MTU diesel group also is looking at dual-fuel engines for mining and other applications, but hasn't yet announced strategy details. According to Tognum America/MTU spokesman Gary Mason, "We've been seeing an increasing amount of interest from our customers in large, mobile, high-speed, natural gas-pow- ered engines. MTU has years of experience with [natural] gas engines in the Onsite Energy business, and we are exploring and prioritizing opportunities to develop mobile gas engines primarily based on our MTU Series 4000 engine platform." Ready for Retrofit For operators that prefer not to wait for OEM dual-fuel solutions, Florida, USA- based GFS Corp. is offering aftermarket systems for some of the more popular mod- els of haulage trucks. The company's Evo- MT 7930 system is available for Cat 793 series trucks and the Evo-MT 7770 for Cat 777 series. GFS has sold both types of sys- tems to fleet operators in Wyoming and in the eastern U.S. coal districts. According to the company, its systems are designed to be installed without major modifications to the chassis or drive engine of the truck, and allow trucks to run on diesel fuel alone in the event of a fault condition or low LNG fuel level. Truck haul capacity is maintained after the Evo- MT System is installed and engine power and torque output is maintained to OEM specifications. "Our Evo-MT System is able to provide our customers with a 'here and now' solu- tion that can be quickly and seamlessly adopted into their operations, making an immediate impact to the bottom line," GFS