HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., May 14, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Market analysts are projecting the small gasoline
engines market size set to surpass $10B by the end of 2035, growing at a CAGR of
7.2% during the 2023 – 2035 forecast period, from an industry size
of around $4B in 2022. The rising
carbon emissions awareness amongst many individuals and companies
consuming small gasoline engines is a factor forcing many Original
Equipment Manufacturers (OEM's) to look for alternative
low-emission engine solutions, delivering the same application
power, if not more. ONYX has developed a suite of Propane Powered
small engines from 452cc (13 HP) to 999cc (31hp), for both vertical
shaft oriented and horizontal shaft oriented applications.
Background – Propane Engine Technology
Over the years here in the US, widespread adoption of internal
combustion engines using propane fuel systems has been slow. The
main reasons being availability of propane fuel, affordable
gasoline prices here in the US, and reliability performance issues
with propane powered engines. More recently, with emission
regulations closing in on gasoline and diesel-powered small engines
paired with elevated gasoline and diesel prices, propane powered
engine solutions are being viewed as a viable alternative. Propane
is typically 30%-35% less expensive than gasoline and the supply of
propane has become more widespread throughout the US over the last
decade, e.g. most U-Haul locations nationwide have bulk propane
filling stations and there are numerous propane distributors who
will make regular propane tank deliveries or fillings for customers
or at job sites. ONYX propane engines can run up to 100 times
cleaner than their gasoline equivalent for exhaust emissions, with
zero evaporative emissions from propane engines. This provides
OEM's longevity to continue to use the superior power that internal
combustion engines deliver in their products for the next couple of
decades.
These factors together only leaves reliable performance concerns
as the major remaining factor holding back the adoption of propane
engine solutions for many industrial, agricultural, and lawn &
garden applications. During the COVID era, ONYX embarked on an
in-depth continuous improvement project to solve all of these
endemic issues that have plagued propane fuel systems. ONYX has now
incorporated these solutions into their latest engine families
resulting in stable engine performance over a wide range of
different operating conditions.
Traditional propane fuel systems do not precisely manage the
fuel phase change within the fuel system, leading to fuel supply
instability and unstable engine performance.
Summary of common and prevalent issues with all legacy
Propane Fuel Systems:
- Widespread use of vapor draw tanks opposed to using liquid draw
tanks due to common regulator freeze and associated with using
liquid draw tanks.
- Fuel flow issues when running vapor draw propane tanks causing
premature run times and engine instability, especially with heavy
load applications.
- Vapor draw tanks susceptible to pressure variations due to
ambient temperatures and dropping tank pressure during use leading
to engine run instability.
- Frequent vapor draw tank overfilling leading to liquid fuel
ingestion causing regulator freeze and damage and unstable engine
performance.
- System instability, engine stall, and component damage when
running on liquid draw tanks.
- Fuel pressure and flow delivery not accurately metered
precisely enough by traditional propane fuel systems. Regulating
from variable tank pressures (as high as 180psi) to a very precise
jet pressure of 2psi is difficult using traditional fuel metering
methods.
- Propane "heavy ends" impurities in the Propane fuel leading to
system "gum-up" and component failure.
- Electronic Fuel Injection (EFI) systems are not robust enough
or suitable for many industrial applications due to excessive unit
vibration, mechanical stresses, and environmental conditions; and
EFI would not solve many of the problems cited above.
ONYX has developed new propane engine technology that eliminates
ALL of the traditional issues associated with propane engine
systems.
The ONYX Solution
ONYX reconfigured our engine systems to run on either liquid or
vapor fuel. Specific configuration improvements include:
- Addition of appropriately specified automotive-grade LPG fuel
filter and fuel lock-off orifices to eliminate fuel flow
restrictions.
- Addition of preliminary primary regulator to stabilize the fuel
pressure being presented to the evaporator module.
- Addition of proprietary evaporator module to manage the
effective phase-change of the fuel from liquid to vapor under
controlled conditions.
- Engine oil is fed through the evaporator module to promote the
fuel phase-change resulting in cooled engine oil, to improve engine
performance.
- Redesigned 2-stage regulator.
- Carburetor optimizes flow of air and fuel for significant
increase in power.
An illustration of the new fuel system is shown below.
Test Results
The charts below are result from testing where we measured the
primary 1st stage regulator pressure (in 2-stage metering
regulator) and overall engine AFR when subjected to various levels
of supply pressure and across the entire spectrum of engine
load.
All tests were conducted on dynamometer with same 852cc Kawasaki
Engine, supplied by vapor draw fuel tank.
Results clearly shows that in the Legacy System the supply
pressure has a significant impact on the regulated pressure and
engine performance (AFR).
In contrast, in the new system the supply pressure has virtually
no impact to regulated pressure, fuel supply and AFR.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the new system is far more capable of handling
the expected changes to supply pressure during use of a vapor-draw
cylinder caused by variation in ambient temperature and dropping
cylinder pressure.
The table below lists key measured engine performance values,
highlighting the amount of improvement from our legacy Kawasaki 852cc system (LX850 engine) to the
new Kawasaki 852cc system (LX900
engine).
The engine performance improvement on the Kawasaki 852cc engine is quite staggering with
a 27% increase in maximum horsepower and 13%
improvement in peak torque generated by the engine (by the same
engine with our new modified propane fuel system).
Engine Power Performance
Test Results
|
LX850 -
852cc Legacy
System
|
LX900 -
852cc New
System
|
Delta/
Improvement
|
Maximum Gross Power
(hp)
|
20.59
|
26.21
|
27 %
|
RPM @ Max
Power
|
2800
|
3400
|
N/A
|
Gross Peak Torque
(Ft.lb)
|
40.48
|
45.60
|
13 %
|
Power @ 3600 RPM
(hp)
|
16.90
|
25.20
|
49 %
|
Power @ 3300 RPM
(hp)
|
19.00
|
26.02
|
37 %
|
Power @ 3000 RPM,
(hp)
|
20.33
|
25.12
|
24 %
|
These results are an impressive conclusion to a lot of hard work
by the ONYX engineering team. We are proud of our technology and
with Propane emissions running two orders of magnitude below those
of comparable gasoline engine emissions we firmly believe that our
propane engine technology is a viable, economical, low-emission
bridge technology for industrial applications for the next 15-20
years.
Our engineering team offer engine integration services to
ease the design process for your particular application(s).
We are also currently seeking Small Off-Road Engine
distributors and dealers to work with. Interested distributors and
dealers in this space please contact us to begin a
conversation.
For more information on our technology contact
sales@onyxsolutions.com or call ONYX at (800)
858-3533.
About ONYX Systems, LLC:
Based in North Carolina, ONYX
Systems, LLC is a leading provider of floor scrubbers and polishers
for commercial and industrial use. Their high-quality products have
been designed for efficiency, ease of maintenance, and
serviceability, and are widely used by Business Service Contractors
(BSCs) nationwide. ONYX is also a supplier of clean, eco-friendly
propane engines, powering various industrial equipment and paving
the way for a zero-emission future.
To learn more about ONYX Systems, LLC and our range of products
and services, please visit our website. We are excited to continue
setting new standards in the industry and look forward to serving
our customers with the highest level of excellence.
Media Contact: Stuart Proctor,
stuart@onyxsolutions.com
Website: https://www.onyxsolutions.com/
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