Argonne National Laboratory supports alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs) both in theory and in practice. As its scientists study new ways to power cars and trucks, Argonne's fleet is participating in an AFV test program.
Located near Chicago, Argonne is one of the U.S. Department of Energy's
(DOE's) largest research and development centers. The 1,700-acre site comprises
more than 60 buildings linked together by almost 40 miles of road. Its 4,500
scientists, engineers, and support staff perform research in (a) engineering;
(b) basic sciences; and (c) energy, environmental, and biomedical sciences.
The Engines and Alternative Fuels Group is involved in testing AFVs, encouraging
the design of AFVs, and developing cleaner-burning engines. To support these
activities, Argonne maintains a fleet of 138 vehicles, including alternative-fuel
vehicles (AFVs). This research and demonstration program was established
to comply with the federal fleet mandates in the Alternative Motor Fuels
Act (AMFA), the Energy Policy Act, the 1990 Amendments to the Clean Air
Act, and Executive Order 14924.
The Alternative Motor Fuel Act directs DOE to purchase original equipment
manufacturer (OEM) AFVs, use them in the federal fleet, and collect data
on their performance, fuel economy, and durability. Managed by DOE's National
Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), this demonstration project analyzes
fuel economy, performance, safety, maintenance, emissions, and costs of
AFVs. The program collected and evaluated data from drivers of light-duty
AFVs for about four years, ending in 1995. The resulting information is
available to the public as well as researchers.
Argonne's Center for Transportation Research maintains the largest demonstration
center in the AMFA Program. Data collection focuses on vehicle driveability,
reliability, and fuel efficiency, but other operational characteristics
are also monitored, such as emissions and performance under varying weather
conditions. The Laboratory became involved in 1992 when it leased five compressed
natural gas (CNG) vans and three ethanol sedans. Vehicles were added annually
and Argonne's database contains data on 81 vehicles. Data for gasoline-powered
sedans were also collected. Argonne's fleet of vehicles was severely reduced
in 1997 as a cost-saving measure; Argonne currently operates 43 vehicles
in the AMFA fleet. Additional AFV's will be phased in when they become available
and conventional vehicles are retired.
The AFVs are an integral part of Argonne's fleet. Employees use the AFVs
in their daily work, including material pickup and delivery, maintenance
activities, field supervision, equipment installation, mail delivery, security,
ambulance/rescue/fire, off-road/road repair, chauffeuring guests, and driving
to meetings. They can be used only for official business, but they may be
taken overnight for business trips. The experience gained from this real-life
fleet operation at Argonne is documented in the AMFA Program.
Because there are no commercial alternative-fuel stations nearby, Argonne
maintains its own refueling stations for CNG, ethanol, and methanol. The
vans are dedicated CNG, the pickups are bi-fuel CNG or propane and gasoline,
and the sedans are flexible-fuel. The sedans can run on either alternative
fuel or gasoline; they use alternative fuel 85% of the time. When they are
off-site, however, the sedans are usually refueled with gasoline.
Argonne had built a methanol (M85) fueling station
in 1989 under DOE's Federal Methanol Fleet Demonstration Program. The Laboratory
served as the official cold weather test site for this earlier program,
which gathered field data on dedicated methanol vehicles. The methanol refueling
facility, now used for the AMFA Program, includes a 10,000-gallon underground
storage tank. The tank, pump, and piping are made of special methanol-compatible
materials. The Laboratory also needed an air quality permit from the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency. The Chicago metropolitan area, in which
Argonne is located, is designated as a severe non-attainment area for ozone,
and volatile organic compound emissions must be minimized. A special nozzle,
similar to that required for gasoline, was installed to meet state requirements.
Argonne also built its own ethanol (E85) station.
Installation of a 1,000-gallon tank began in October 1992. Ethanol-compatible
materials were used for the tank, pump, and piping. The tank could not be
filled until the Laboratory received an air quality permit from the Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency. Special nozzles, like the ones used for
methanol and gasoline were installed, but special vents were also needed
because the tank is aboveground. The station met Stage I vapor recovery
system requirements and became operational in March 1993. In October 1994,
the tank was upgraded to meet Stage II requirements.
The cooperation of Northern Illinois Gas (NIGas),
the local utility company, has been a vital factor in setting up Argonne's
CNG refueling facilities. The company has loaned various pieces of equipment
to the Laboratory, free of charge, in support of the AFVs. NIGas also provides
maintenance services for the equipment.
In October 1992, NIGas loaned Argonne a temporary portable quick-fill CNG
refueling trailer with a 24-cylinder cascade. By March 1993, the cascade
was being exchanged twice a week instead of only once.
In mid-December 1994, NIGas replaced the portable refueling trailer with
a self-contained Hurricane CNG compressor and a cascade. Required safety
precautions for this new temporary refueling facility included barricades,
fire extinguishers, and an emergency shut-off button. Members of Argonne's
Technology Engineering Group gave drivers a station overview and safety
explanation.
In May 1996, NIGas moved the Hurricane CNG compressor to the Olympics in
Atlanta. Two FuelMakers replaced the compressor. These portable gas-powered
units compress natural gas and dispense it into fuel tanks. Each self-contained
outdoor appliance can fill a 26.4-gallon cylinder to a pressure of 3,000
psig at 68 F within 8 hours. Drivers follow a strict refueling schedule
because of the limited fuel supply. It takes about 4 hours to compress enough
natural gas to fill one vehicle, and vehicles are allowed only one refueling
per week. Argonne has submitted a proposal for a permanent CNG refueling
facility to meet current demand and allow for future growth of the CNG fleet.
In September, 1997 construction of Argonne's permanent CNG refueling
facility began. The compressor facility includes two 28.0 standard cubic
feet per minute (scfm) Ingersol-Rand units at 5 pounds per square inch gauge
(psig) suction pressure capable of delivering 4,500 psig discharge pressure.
The units are powered individually by 20 HP motors using 460 Volt, 3 phase
service. The fueling capacity of the station is approximately 400 equivalent
gasoline gallons of CNG per day. The facility is equipped with a three bank
storage cascade consisting of 54 ASME bottles capable of storing 27,648
standard cubic feet (scf) of CNG at 4,000 psig. One dispenser complete with
two house drops with NGV-1 fill nozzles is available to fast fill vehicles
at 3,000 or 3,600 psig. The facility became operational in November, and
will be used to develop advanced CNG refueling technology.
For more information on Argonne's experience with alternative-fuel vehicles,
contact Dave Livengood at david_livengood@qmgate.anl.gov.
To learn more about DOE's role in alternative-fuel vehicle research, visit
the Alternative Fuels Data Center on the World Wide Web at http://www.afdc.doe.gov.
This chart provides yearly mileage accumulation for each fuel type for Argonne's AMFA fleet which has accumulated over 915,000 miles. The decline in the mileage accumulation for the methonol sedans is due to returning eleven Spirits and three Luminas to GSA this past Spring/Summer.
The chart above shows problems found in Argonne's current AMFA fleet of 43 vehicles. The performance of ANL's AFVs compares similarly to that of our conventional vehicles. These vehicles have a total of 18,277 days on the road; and only on 213 days of this (1%) did drivers report problems such as hesitation, hard to start, poor idle quality, lack of power, pinging, stalled after starting, and stalled in traffic. The gasoline vehicles in Argonne's AMFA fleet have had a total of 2,779 days on the road and have reported seven problems. The problems listed in Other included A/C not working, transmission slipping at starting, backfiring, erratic speedometer, duel-fuel vehicle will only run on gasoline, and sticking rear door.
Vehicle |
Accumulated Mileage |
Average MPG (gasoline equiv. gallon) |
Mileage from trips >24 miles |
Average Trip Length per vehicle |
| 12 Ethanol Tauruses | 135,072 |
19.29 |
59,030 |
8.1 |
| 3 Gasoline Tauruses | 36,359 |
20.72 |
19,218 |
11.1 |
| 3 Methanol Intrepids | 39,712 |
22.25 |
19,250 |
9.9 |
| 3 Gasoline Intrepids | 30,211 |
17.31 |
5,666 |
8.0 |
| 4 CNG Caravans | 32,249 |
8.11 |
274 |
3.4 |
| 8 CNG Vans | 122,611 |
8.40 |
2,633 |
4.6 |
| 9 CNG Pickups | 62,895 |
8.88 |
730 |
4.1 |
| 1 Propane Pickup | 5,972 |
13.74 |
102 |
4.9 |
The table above provides information on Argonne's current fleet that includes
Ford Taurus ethanol sedans, Dodge Intrepid methanol sedans, compressed natural
gas Dodge Ram vans, Caravans, Ford F150 pickups, and F250 pickups, a propane
Ford F150 pickup, and Intrepid and Taurus control sedans.
updated 17Feb1998 mv&lb