NKK Displays DME-Fueled Vehicle
at "Eco Car World 2002"
NKK displayed a vehicle fueled by dimethyl ether (DME)
at "Eco Car World 2002" at Yoyogi Park, Tokyo on June 1. The
exhibition of clean-running vehicles was jointly sponsored by the Environment
Ministry, Tokyo Metropolitan Office and other authorities. Electric,
natural-gas, fuel-cell and other 'clean' vehicles were displayed.
NKK's DME-fueled truck drew particular attention due
to increasing interest in this new clean alternative to diesel and LPG
fuels. NKK achieved the world's first successful test runs of a DME-fueled
vehicle in 1998, and in February this year was the first to formally
license a DME vehicle for use on Japanese roads.
DME produces no black smoke during combustion, as it
involves no carbon molecule bonding, while providing the high cetane
value needed in diesel engines. DME is a gas under normal conditions,
liquefying at a pressure of about 6 atmospheres. Use of DME in existing
diesel vehicles requires replacement of the fuel supply system but no
major modification to the diesel engine itself.
NKK has been working on direct-synthesis mass-production
and application technology for DME. The company aims to encourage development
of DME-fueled vehicles, and is also researching applied technology for
DME-fired gas-turbine and diesel-engine generator systems as well as
DME fuel cells.
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