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Emissions Testing of a Hybrid Fuel Cell Bus
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English
Abstract
The fuel cell bus program at Georgetown University (GU) has directed the operational development and testing of three hybrid fuel cell powered buses for transit operation. These are the world's first liquid-fueled, fuel cell powered road vehicles. This paper describes the emissions testing of one of these buses on a heavy duty chassis dynamometer at West Virginia University (WVU). The tested bus was driven by a 120 kW DC motor and utilized a 50 kW phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC) as an energy source with a 100 kW battery for supplemental power. A methanol/water fuel mixture was converted by a steam reformer to a hydrogen rich gas mixture for use in a fuel cell stack. Emissions from the reformer, fuel cell stack and startup burner were monitored for both transient and steady-state operation. It was concluded that this first-generation fuel cell bus offers an attractive approach to reducing emissions of particulate matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon dioxide (CO2) relative to conventional drivetrain transit buses operating on both diesel and alternative fuels. Carbon monoxide (CO) emissions were similar to existing alternative fuel buses, and further analysis revealed the cause of this unexpected result was linked to the flow of methanol into the reformer burner. Alternative operating strategies are being incorporated into the next generation fuel cell buses resulting in greatly reduced carbon monoxide emissions.
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Authors
- Robert R. Wimmer - Fuel Cell Program, Georgetown University
- James Fletcher - Fuel Cell Program, Georgetown University
- Nigel N. Clark - Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University
- David L. McKain - Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University
- Donald W. Lyons - Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, West Virginia University
Topic
Citation
Wimmer, R., Fletcher, J., Clark, N., McKain, D. et al., "Emissions Testing of a Hybrid Fuel Cell Bus," SAE Technical Paper 980680, 1998, https://doi.org/10.4271/980680.Also In
References
- Clark, N. N. Gautam, M. Bata, R.M. Wang, W.G. Loth, J.L. Palmer, G.M. “Design and Operation of a New Transportable Laboratory for Emissions Testing of Heavy Duty Trucks and Buses,” Heavy Vehicle Systems, International Journal of Vehicle Design 2 3 4 308 322 1995
- SAE J1376 Fuel Economy Measurement Test (Engineering Type) for Trucks and Buses SAE J1376, SAE Handbook 4 1993
- Clark, N.N. Gautam, M. Jyons, D.W. Bata, R.M. Wang, W.G. Norton, P.M. Chandler, K.L. “Natural Gas and Diesel Transit Bus Emissions: Review and Recent Data,” SAE Truck and Bus Conference Cleveland, OH Nov. 1997
- Chandler, K.L. Malcosky, N.D. Motta, R.C. Norton, P.M. Kelley, K.J. Shumacher, L.G. Final Alternative Fuel Transit Bus Evaluation Results Battelle, 505 King Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 1996
- Chandler, K.L. Malcosky, N.D. Motta, R.C. Norton, P.M. Kelley, K.J. Shumacher, L.G. Lyons, D.W. “Alternative Fuel Transit Bus Evaluation Program Results,” SAE Paper 961082 1996
- Clark, N. N. Wang, G.G. Lyons, D.W. Gautam, M. Bata, R.M. “Troubleshooting High Emissions From In-Service Alternative Fueled Buses,” Windsor Workshop of Alternative Fuels (Proceedings) 421 437 Toronto June 1996
- Bata, R.M. Lyons, D. W. Clark, N.N. Gautam, M. Wang, W.G. Brown, D. Heydorn, E. “Vehicle Performance and Exhaust Gas Emissions of In-Use Methanol Fueled Transit Buses,” Eleventh International Symposium on Alcohol Fuels, Proceedings 3 1996