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 President Jason Green said when announc- ing the Evo-MT 7930's market introduction. "We developed the Evo-MT System in direct response to our mining customers who have long sought a practical LNG retrofit option for large mine haul trucks," Green said, describing the product as a "smart, cost effective and sustainable nat- ural gas solution." GFS promises additional products for Caterpillar vehicles, as well as for Komatsu mine haul truck models, and says it is working on both mechanical and electric drive applications in the 100 to +300 ton class range. Mid-range, LNG-powered Diesels Ahead OEMs active in the heavy-duty, medium- horsepower off-road diesel sector are also moving ahead to develop dual-fuel engines. Late in 2011, Volvo Penta introduced a bi- fuel, 16-liter Tier 4 Interim engine that was initially targeted for applications in the North American oil and gas sector, but would be appropriate for mobile-equipment applications in other sectors such as min- ing. The new TWG1663GE, according to the company, provides fuel cost savings, high power density, and advanced SCR to meet Tier 4 Interim EPA and CARB emis- sions regulations. In Volvo Penta's dual-fuel engine system, natural gas is introduced upstream from the turbo-chargers and an electronic air valve controls the amount of natural gas mixed with diesel fuel. Engine compression ignites the diesel fuel, which in turn ignites the nat- ural gas. Bi-fuel blending and combustion control is integrated into the Volvo Engine Management System (EMS). Volvo Penta said its bi-fuel principle enables heavy-duty diesel engines to operate on ratios of up to 70% natural gas and 30% diesel fuel under normal loads, and slightly less natural gas during higher loads. The TWG1663GE can also run exclusively on diesel fuel. The TWG1663GE also utilizes Volvo's Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) tech- nology to reduce NOX and particulate emis- sions. According to Volvo Penta, the engine's emissions output meets EPA and CARB Tier 4i limits regardless of what pro- portion the engine blends the two fuels. Interestingly, Volvo Penta's SCR tech- nology was a major factor in the agreement the Swedish engine builder entered into in 2011 with Sandvik Mining and Construc- tion. Prior to the agreement, Sandvik had already introduced Volvo Penta engines in several models of its product lines for drilling rigs, loaders and haulers. "Volvo Penta has been receptive to our requirements during the development and we are pleased with the engineering sup- port they provide us," said Chris Jobburn, senior product support engineer at Sandvik M&C;, noting that installing after- treatment systems had proven to be a major issue for many equipment suppli- ers—but not for Sandvik. "This is just another regular engine installation," said Seppo Karhu, manager for engine installations at Sandvik M&C;, referring to development of the company's first-ever loader with SCR for mining and tunnelling applications. "With the SCR technology, ventilation rates become so low that it [exhaust is] no longer toxic emissions, but [now] CO2 or fuel consumption sets the limits—and the Volvo engines have low fuel consumption," said Olli Koivisto, global product line man- ager for Load and Haul. www.e-mj.com NOVEMBER 2012 • E&MJ; 51