Biofuel Transportation and Handling
For over 40 years, American Crane & Equipment Corp. has been crafting high-performance material handling and lifting solutions for a huge range of specialty load requirements — slag, metal bars, marble, glass, ash, wastewater, lumber, and granite, just to name a few. Today, we’re proud to add biofuel to our list of equipment capabilities.
Specialty Material: Biofuels
Any fuel-handling environment — even those for traditional diesel fuel and gasoline — will come with unique requirements; likewise, each type of biofuel will have unique applications and processing and handling needs.
- Biodiesel reacts similarly to diesel fuel; it is burned through compression-ignition processes. Biofuel has a higher compression in engines, resulting in increased pulling power.
- Ethanol is easy to produce and nontoxic, making it a convenient additive for increasing oxygenation and reducing emissions from gasoline-powered vehicles. Unfortunately, ethanol has a low energy density, offering fewer miles per gallon than traditional fuels. It can also be highly corrosive to certain rubbers.
- Butanol, like ethanol, is an alcohol, but contains four carbon atoms as compared to ethanol’s two. It is less corrosive to rubber and more energy-dense than ethanol, making it more useful in unmodified or more sensitive engines.
Biofuel Handling Industries and Applications
As production of biofuel increases, many industries with a history of reliance on fossil fuels are now actively converting their operations. The transportation industry, in particular, makes use of biofuels in various applications, from aviation to rail transport.
Aviation is the second largest consumer of energy in the entire transportation industry, and requires pure, chemically stable fuels. Jet fuel blends with petroleum and biofuels have proven safe and effective.
Motor vehicles are the biggest users of conventional fuel as well as the primary users of biofuel, pushing most of the industry’s current research and development.
Heavy industry, such as shipping and rail transport, is projected to see the next serious biofuel innovation.
Biomass Crane Solutions From American Crane
American Crane supplies solutions for all processes involved in biofuel production, designing equipment that ensures optimal automation, versatility, and reliability. For example, our overhead cranes are built to withstand high levels of heat during the viscosity reduction process. We manufacture units to fit facilities of all kinds, working to increase facility floor space and fuel-storage capacity all while reducing emissions, noise, and dirt levels.
Our expert team will help you evaluate the needs of your operation; delivery routine, biomass receiving and processing schedules, load tonnage, material type and density, storage layouts, and processing capacity are all key factors in finding your ideal lifting solution. Once assessed, our in-house professionals will help you find the best fit to ensure safety, reliability, longevity, and compliance with industry guidelines.
Curious to learn more about our design and fabrication services for biofuel handling, our comprehensive quality assurance program, or our crane installation and maintenance services? Check out our buyer’s guide, or reach out to the team directly.
