Durham and Southern Research Debut New Diesel Technology on City Fleet

Residents in Durham can now breathe a little easier thanks to the recent installation of new emissions-reducing technology on some of the City of Durham’s fleet of vehicles and equipment.

Southern Research Institute and the City’s Fleet Management Department, as part of their continued efforts to improve air quality, have taken another step forward by partnering on installing emission-reducing technologies on multiple vehicles and equipment in the City’s fleet.

Earlier today, the department and Southern Research Institute, along with project participants Triangle Clean Cities Coalition, Engine Control Systems, and NETT Technologies, Inc., debuted the use of these new systems, which are currently installed on 16 heavy-duty diesel vehicles and equipment now in use by the City’s Solid Waste Management, Public Works, and Water Management Departments.

These new systems reduce significant amounts of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from the exhaust of these vehicles and equipment, resulting in positive impacts on Durham’s air quality. NOx emissions contribute to the formation of harmful particulate matter, ground-level ozone, and acid rain. NOx emissions form when fuels are burned at high temperatures, with typical major sources being fuel combustion in vehicles and engines.

According to Kent Cash, director of the City’s Fleet Management Department, this project is just one of the many ways his department is working to improve Durham’s air quality. “We have a responsibility to help protect Durham’s environment, and thus, are constantly looking for ways to get ahead of the curve on the use of new technology for our vehicles and equipment,” Cash said. “When we were approached by Southern Research Institute to become a partner on their project proposal to EPA’s Emerging Technology Program, we were excited about the potential to have them select and test advanced new vehicle emission controls on the City’s vehicles. Based on the initial testing results we’re seeing, that potential has become a reality and our air quality is a little better because of it.”

Project leader Southern Research Institute, a not-for-profit organization with transportation and energy research facilities located in Durham, has other major facilities conducting basic and applied research in Alabama and Maryland. Southern’s Durham Operation won a $1 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to identify, test, and demonstrate advanced emissions-reduction technologies installed on the City’s fleet diesel vehicles. The City’s Fleet Management Department will maintain and use these technologies through the life of the equipment they are installed on.

According to Tim Hansen, senior program leader for Southern Research Institute’s Advanced Energy and Transportation Technology Group in Durham, the testing of the new systems shows promising results in reducing NOx emissions from these 16 heavy-duty vehicles. “Right now, we’re seeing NOx emissions reduced by up to 78 percent and hydrocarbon emissions reduced over 90 percent,” Hansen said. “Since the City will keep the technologies and equipment operational for several years, they will provide long-term environmental and health benefits for the Durham community. We are happy to have been able to help Durham in this way – it’s where we live and work.”

Hansen and his team in Durham chose selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technologies from the EPA’s Emerging Technology List, which included NETT Technologies, Inc.’s BlueMAX and BlueMAX 200 urea-based SCR systems for on- and off-road applications as well as Engine Control Systems’ TermiNOx D urea-based SCR system for on-road applications. Technologies from these two vendors are now installed on the following City fleet diesel vehicles and equipment:

• three Autocar WX 64 garbage trucks
• four Crane Carrier LET2 garbage trucks
• five Volvo WXLL64 garbage trucks
• two Case 621D loaders
• two Case 590 backhoes

According to Cash, this project is one of several the City is committed to with the hope of reducing air quality impacts from Durham’s fleet. “Ultimately, the efforts of this department will help ensure that Durham is a place with thriving, livable neighborhoods, which is a major goal of the City’s new Strategic Plan,” Cash said. “This project is one of many that we are working on to improve our environment and we are continuing with our journey for better air for all. We are staying the course using a mix of new technologies and best fleet management practices.”