The vehicle manufacturer Scania and Citrosuco, one of the largest producers of orange juice in the World, announced recently announced a partnership to demonstrate the feasibility of using trucks powered by Natural Gas and biomethane in Brazil.
Citrosuco will start testing during December on a 410 HP tractor, which will run between Matão (in the interior of São Paulo) and the Port of Santos (SP), a route of 380 Miles, transporting orange juice destined for export. The vehicle to be tested will already be the New Scania Truck Generation, and the testing will run for a year. The truck will be operated by Transportadora Morada do Sol, which provides services to Citrosuco.
The Scania truck can run with CNG, Biomethane or with a mixture of both fuels, but does not use diesel. The fuelling of the vehicle will be responsibility of Gás Brasiliano, who will initially just use CNG. According to Scania, the truck emits 85% less carbon dioxide (CO2) when it runs with biomethane and 70% less when running on CNG, compared to a similar vehicle running on diesel.
“The CNG/biomethane -powered truck is a viable diesel option that can be implemented in the short term and allows a significant reduction of fuel costs,” said Roberto Barral, vice president of commercial operations at Scania in Brazil.
Since 2014, Scania has been offering fleet operators an urban bus model that uses an imported engine capable of operating with CNG and with biomethane. While the CNG is a fossil form of energy, Biomethane is considered a renewable source. It is produced from organic matter in landfills, sewage treatment plants, Sugar cane residues, and other organic waste sources.
“Citrosuco has great interest in innovation. We support actions that can generate, in first place, an environmental gain, and financial benefits in second term. We see this demonstration as a real chance of uniting the two advantages, “said Marcos Camillo Supervisor of Transport and designation of Citrosuco.