AFTC has developed practical, low cost fuel injection equipment for DME fueled vehicles. Volvo Truck Corp. (in Sweden) has been using AFTC's fuel systems in field demonstrations and in laboratory research since 1995.
Although others have demonstrated DME fueled vehicles (in Japan, Korea and China), the fuel injection systems used were converted diesel systems that are not technically feasible for production.
DME is an ultra-clean diesel fuel replacement that can be manufactured at low cost from abundant resources, including stranded natural gas, coal and biomass. Biomass sources include corn stover (corn stalk waste), switch grass, prairie grass, black liquor (from pulp mills) wood wastes and others. Today, the cost of producing DME1 is only ¼ to ½ of diesel fuel produced from crude oil, depending on the feed stock used.
DME is an extremely clean burning fuel that does not produce any particulate (PM) emissions (black smoke). In 1998, the State of California identified diesel PM as a toxic air contaminant based on its potential to cause cancer, premature death, and other health problems. In addition to eliminating PM, DME radically lowers emissions of NOx, HC & SOx. Preliminary test data indicate that US 2010 exhaust emission regulations can be met without the use of particulate traps or NOx catalysts. These devices add an estimated $5000 to the cost of a heavy-duty truck and $2500 to a diesel passenger car.
DME lowers lifecycle CO2 emissions (a green house gas that causes global warming) when it is produced using biomass feedstock. If we could switch all internal combustion engines to burn BioDME, we could significantly slow global warming.
DME is a multi-purpose fuel in that it can be used as a propane replacement for home heating and cooking, a gas turbine fuel for power generation, and as a fuel for diesel powered vehicles.
Because of its low cost, abundant feed stocks, low emissions and versatility of use, DME is rapidly being exploited in Asia. The Chinese, Japanese and Koreans are investing heavily in DME, both in R&D and the construction of production facilities. There are four major organizations in the world that are working to bring DME to market as a diesel fuel replacement. These organizations are: International DME Association ; Japanese DME Forum ; Korean DME Forum ; and the Chinese DME Association.
Several hundred major companies are members of these groups, including Shell Global Research, Total, Volvo, Isuzu, Indian Oil Co., JFE Holdings, Korea Gas, Lurgi, Haldor Topsoe, Methanex, XINAO, etc. Already China is producing more than1 Million tons/year of DME for cooking and heating and plans are in place and underway to produce 20 million tons/year by 2020.
