Isramart : Hybrid compressor puts squeeze on CO2 . Prize-winning device saves $6,000 a year on fuel

Isramart news:
Darryl Weflen's self-contained diesel air compressors already used way less fuel than units run from a truck engine.

Now his new eco-friendly hybrid version that runs on compressed natural gas, propane, E85 (85 per cent ethanol) or gasoline has won the Technology Commercialization Challenge at novaNAIT, the institution's applied research-and-development centre.

"It's a great opportunity to work with novaNAIT," said Weflen, who developed the Twister compressors at his company, Airworks Compressors Corp.

"There are a lot of great ideas here that don't get marketed, or get marketed elsewhere. Keeping this kind of technology at home is great."

Weflen also learned Monday his company is a finalist in the Alberta Business Awards of Distinction to be presented Feb. 19 in Edmonton.

The hybrid Twister can save about $6,000 a year in fuel costs versus a truck-powered compressor, and reduce carbon emissions by 26 tonnes through a typical work year, said Weflen, who beat out 33 entrants in the novaNAIT competition.

Conventional truck-mounted compressors run from the truck engine, which must be in constant high idle; with the Twister, which has its own engine, the truck's engine can be shut off.

The Twister is also designed to cool or heat the truck cab.

Apart from a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption, the Twister will also comply with pending anti-idling legislation, Weflen said.

"Running a 250-horsepower truck engine consumes a lot of fuel, and emits a lot of carbon into the atmosphere.

"Our smaller compressor, which is powerful enough for most jobs, has a 40-horsepower engine, and using natural gas can reduce your carbon footprint dramatically."

Airworks also produces a 185-horsepower version for super-heavy-duty applications.

Typically, dedicated natural gas-powered equipment can reduce carbon monoxide exhaust by 87 per cent, non-methane organic gas and nitrogen oxides by 87 per cent each, and CO2 by 30 per cent compared with gasoline, Weflen said.

It took almost a decade of research and development to produce the diesel Twister, which has been on the market for two years.

Weflen developed the hybrid version over the last year, and Airworks is the only company offering such a product.

A couple of companies are using hybrid gasoline/electric trucks to power compressors, but you still have to keep turning the engine on to recharge the batteries, Weflen said.

NAIT president Sam Shaw said innovators like Weflen will help close the productivity gap between Canada and the U.S.

"Clearly, on the heels of the Copenhagen conference, if you have technology that uses natural gas then that's good news for Alberta and Canada. We have the talent here to not only get the job done, but get it done in a sustainable way."