Lorries run on wood
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WOOD-BURNING lorries ar planned by one of the larges road transport operators France in a move to counter in creasing fuel costs.
Calberson SA, which has fleet of almost 8,000 vehicles proposes a conversion schen for one-third of the fleet whicl will allow producer-gas opera tion fuelled by low grade woo( or wood waste.
Cost of the modern gas gener ator equipment is estimated no to be under four per cent of thi vehicle price and the extra ex penditure should be recoupel within six to eight months o installation.
Plans are for "dual-fuel' operation, with engines runnini solely on diesel or on a 20 pe cent diesel/80 per cent gas mix Operating range on produce gas (three kilos of wood is salt to equal one litle of diesel oil could be as much as 900km, bu this would require over oni tonne of fuel.
Also in France, RVI is nov working on a study concernini producer gas equipment fo commercial vehicles which mal become commercially availabll in 1982.
Both the Calberson and Re nault schemes, though, may stil founder, as the State won't taki kindly to a reduction of revenui from hydrocarbon taxes in die sel fuel.
It is interesting to note that th( French proposals perpetuate ar engineering philosophy whict had its origin in nationa contests for vehicles fuelled b) producer gas, with the first even taking place in 1929. In an ever earlier Domestic Fuels Rally, five-tonnes Berliet, converted tc wood burning producer gas completed a 3,000km course around France at an average speed of 28km/hour using 42kg of solid fuel per 100km.