In the News

Silversands Ethanol in exclusive partnership with Scania SA, has recently launched the first project involving Bio-Ethanol engines for public bus transport, with Metro Bus. - 22/07/2010

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literature

ED 95 - Bioethanol fuel

ED95 designates a blend of 95% ethanol and 5% ignition improver and is used in modified diesel engines where high compression is used to ignite the fuel, as opposed to the operation of gasoline engines where spark plugs are used. This fuel was developed by Swedish ethanol producer SEKAB.Because of the high ignition temperatures of pure ethanol, the addition of ignition improver is necessary for successful diesel engine operation. The diesel engine that runs on ethanol has also a higher compression ratio and an adapted fuel system. This fuel has been used with success in many Swedish Scania buses since the 1980s and by 2009 there are over 600 buses running on ED95 in Sweden.

Exhaust samples show a very positive effect with regard to the regulated emissions of nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particles, which were dramatically reduced in comparison with those of diesel fuel. Without a particle filter and Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), particle emissions were reduced by 60 per cent.
An ethanol bus uses about 60 per cent more fuel than an ordinary diesel bus, in part because ethanol contains less energy than diesel per litre. In the autumn of 2007, Scania introduced a new ethanol hybrid bus, which reduces fuel consumption by at least 25 per cent and uses the same amount of energy regardless of whether it runs on ethanol or diesel.

Scania regards ethanol as the most cost-efficient renewable fuel currently available for urban operation, since it can contribute to a sustainable public transport system without delay.

The Scania bus has a compression ignition engine designed to run on bioethanol. Diesel engines are more energy efficient than petrol engines. The engines used in bioethanol buses have the same energy efficiency as a conventional diesel engine, about 44 %.

The main differences compared with conventional diesel engines are:

- Raised cylinder compression ratio
- Larger injector holes
- Modified injection timing
- Fuel pump with larger flow capacity
- Gaskets and filters in the fuel system exchanged for ones made from more alcohol resistant materials.

Scania on Alternative Fuels

ED95 Brochure