OEM Diesel Tanks

At the two-day Propane Engine Fuel Summit, in Chantilly, Va., outside of Washington, D.C., Icom CEO Ralph Perpetuini announced that his company will begin offering both mono-fuel and bi-fuel versions of its liquid propane injection system and fuel tanks for installation on vehicles in service.

“The Icom JTG Propane Liquid Injection System can be installed on virtually any gasoline vehicle with multi-point injection,” Perpetuini said. “It will have excellent drivability, performance and torque, with reduced emissions. The gasoline mode is not disturbed; it can still be used.” “It’s especially suitable for fleet vehicles, including taxi and livery; law enforcement; state, county and municipal vehicles and other high mileage vehicles,” he said. The company is preparing for U.S. Environmental Protection Authority and California Air Resources Board certifications of the most popular fleet vehicles.

Icom’s system is in service on more than 100,000 vehicles globally in the bi-fuel (also called “hybrid”) version. In the U.S., some 5,000 vehicles have been converted to propane use in the mono-fuel application.

Full Story: Icom Offers Bi-Fuel Propane System to Automotive Aftermarket - Earthtimes (press release)

A hypothetical situation, not too far in the future: after yet another terrorist strike in India, an armoured combat group prepares to raid a terrorist camp near Sialkot, across the Jammu border.

Satellite images and photos of the camp taken the previous day by an agent are fed into a simulator, housed in a container next to the tanks. Each tank crew spends time on the simulator, virtually experiencing the next day's operation and rehearsing their individual tasks.

], to provide India's T-72 and T-90 tank regiments with 80 containerised simulators that could be transported anywhere, including to a border launch pad. The MoD will soon announce the winner.

Full Story: Friend turns 'foe' in tank battle simulator deal - Rediff

Today, propane fuels more than 14 million on-road vehicles worldwide. Clean-burning propane is an increasingly attractive, cost-saving alternative to gasoline and diesel for business fleet owners. It is the third most commonly used engine fuel, after gasoline and diesel in the United States.

The 2010 summit will bring together leading manufacturers of vehicles, dispensing equipment, fuel tanks, and turnkey operations as well as government officials to discuss propane as a vehicle fuel. Attendees and online viewers will hear directly from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including Roger Howsmon, chief marketing officer at Blue Bird Corp.; Kent Tyler, president of Collins Bus; and Roy Willis, president and CEO of PERC. They will also hear from customers already using the new technologies in their fleets and businesses.

Working in partnership with OEMs, producers, and suppliers, PERC has made a significant commitment to funding propane-fueled products. The summit will emphasize the propane industry?s research and development efforts to bring more propane powered products to the market. On-road vehicles include propane-fueled school buses, police cruisers, and taxicabs. Commercial off-road propane applications include forklifts and lawn mowers.

Full Story: 2010 Propane Engine Fuel Summit to be webcast live online - 7thSpace Interactive (press release)

In helicopter EMS (HEMS), stricter patient transport protocols in some markets have significantly reduced flight operations, and new FAA Part 135 rules governing HEMS will include equipment mandates that are expected to drive up costs, perhaps resulting in additional operator and program consolidations.

Certification and delivery deadlines slip to the right for new helicopters. Offshore operators have seen oil prices nearly halved from record highs of $145.29 per barrel on July 3, 2008, while natural gas prices have plunged even more precipitously. Collapsing property and other tax revenues have strained governmental budgets, particularly at the state and municipal levels, and the overall economy has crimped air-tour and charter operators.

Certification programs for new helicopters continue to move to the right as tighter revenues stretch development timetables. The degrees of delay vary considerably and some, such as those for the Bell/Agusta 609 tiltrotor, are not completely related to the macro economy. Bell achieved certification for its 429 last year and has begun amping up deliveries. Certification of more new models, including the Sikorsky S-76D and S-434 and the Robinson R66, is likely this year, but that milestone originally was expected last year or even earlier.

Full Story: New Rotorcraft 2010 - Aviation International News

According to Mack, ClearTech reduces oxides of nitrogen emissions (NOx) down to near-zero, while at the same time improving fuel economy by up to 5% and reducing active regenerations of the diesel particulate filter (DPF). The OEM said it has been building trucks equipped with ClearTech since November .

McKenna said Mack tested ClearTech in customer fleets for more than two years, accumulating five million miles of field testing. He noted that ClearTech works by injecting diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) ? a non-toxic solution composed mostly of ultrapure water, plus a smaller amount of urea, a common nitrogen-containing compound ? into the engine?s exhaust stream. The fluid works with the hot exhaust and a catalyst to convert NOx into nitrogen and water vapor, two harmless and natural components of the air we breathe.

Full Story: Mack to unveil ClearTech SCR at World of Concrete - Fleet Owner