Add U.S. construction-company fleet managers to the list of possible beneficiaries of the growing national gas boom, but the payoff is at least two years away. Dimethyl ether, a diesel replacement product that can be made from a variety of chemical feedstocks, could power a new line of heavy-duty trucks due in 2015 from a Volvo North America and Mack Truck partnership.
Natural gas will be the primary raw material used in dimethyl ether (DME) production, says Andre Boehman, a University of Michigan engineer who partnered with Volvo to develop the DME truck line. Converting gas to DME solves some logistical problems associated with LNG and CNG as the fuel can be handled just like propane and the infrastructure is already in place to transport and distribute it. Oberon Fuels, San Diego, has developed a modular, fleet-scale production platform, which gave Volvo-Mack confidence to base a new line on the fuel.