Port Of
Oakland And Partners Collaborate On Air Quality Demonstration Project For
Diesel TrucksFirst of Its Kind Test of Cleaner
Fuel and Exhaust Control Equipment on Heavy Duty Trucks That Haul Shipping
Containers
The
Port of Oakland announced a year-long demonstration test of a cleaner fuel (PuriNOx™)
in on-road diesel trucks that haul shipping containers to and from the
Port’s marine terminals in combination with a test of a diesel oxidation
catalyst, or DOC (AZ Purimuffler™)--a type of exhaust control that reduces
emissions. The Port, Air District, and the Air Resources Board are funding
the $148,000 project.
“We are very excited about the potential this project
holds for demonstrating a significant reduction in diesel emissions,” said
Tay Yoshitani, Port of Oakland’s executive director. “If it works the way we
expect, the new cleaner fuel and exhaust control will offer a workable
option for the local trucking industry to improve air quality, something
that we would all like to achieve,” added Yoshitani.
Port of Oakland Maritime Director Jerry Bridges commented
that this project is precedent-setting, “Oakland is the first port in the
country to conduct this type of demonstration project--to show the emission
control benefit of using the combination of the PuriNOx™ cleaner fuel and
the AZ Purimuffler™ on heavy-duty trucks that haul shipping containers to
and from a port. There have been tests involving off-road port vehicles, but
now we’re trying this out on trucks that take to the highway.”
A dozen heavy-duty diesel trucks from Horizon Lines will be
used for the demonstration testing. Bill Alverson, Horizon Lines’ terminal
operations manager, commented on his company’s participation in the project,
“We are delighted to be on the cutting edge of experimenting with new fuel
and exhaust control technology, knowing our involvement may help the
environment.”
Two Horizon trucks will be unchanged for baseline control;
two will be outfitted with the AZ Purimuffler™ DOCs made by Lubrizol ECS;
four will be fueled with PuriNOx™; and four will have an AZ Purimuffler™ DOC
and be fueled with PuriNOx™.
Jack Broadbent, the Air
District’s executive officer, stated, “This project offers great promise to
further protect public health in the West Oakland community. And, the
possibility that similar diesel reductions could be duplicated throughout
the Bay Area and beyond is extremely encouraging.”
Port officials thanked members of the West Oakland
community for their dedication in working to improve air quality. Port
Director of Communications Harold Jones said, “ Our neighbors in West
Oakland came to us and we listened. This project is one example of many
projects that the local community and the Port have put together in an
effort to find new ways of improving air quality.”
PuriNOx™ was developed by The Lubrizol Corporation and is manufactured by
blending standard California diesel with purified water and the PuriNOx™
additive package. It virtually eliminates “black smoke.” It is locally
blended and distributed by Ramos Oil Company.
The Lubrizol Corporation’s Market Development Manager for
Emulsified Products Bill Hagstrand explained how PuriNOx™ works, “Blending
water with diesel fuel lowers the peak combustion temperature, thereby
reducing nitrogen oxides in emissions. The fuel also delays the initiation
of combustion, leading to lower particulate emissions. Basically we are
talking about a technical concept, but a relatively simple way of
controlling pollution so that we can all breathe a little easier.”
This demonstration project will also use six AZ Purimufflers™ made by
Lubrizol ECS, a Newmarket, Ontario (Canada)-based division of The Lubrizol
Corporation. ECS President, Ed Richards, said that DOCs typically reduce
particulate matter emissions 20 to 30%. “Now that our AZ Purimufflers™ will
be used along with PuriNOx™ in the diesel trucks, it could result in as much
as a 50% reduction in particulate matter and a 20% reduction of nitrogen
oxide emissions.”
This project is part of the Port’s
nearly $9 million Vision 2000 Air Quality Program. In 1999, the Port
embarked on a harbor expansion program known as the “Vision 2000 Maritime
Development Program.” As part of the expansion program and to mitigate local
impacts from its operations, the Port agreed to establish an air quality
program. The program’s projects are designed to reduce air emissions from
many sources, including marine terminal equipment, tugboats, local buses,
and trucks. Several of these projects have been completed, and more are
underway.