STILL leading the way in emissions reduction
October 1st 2007 With climate change rapidly approaching the point of no
return, reducing CO2 emissions is paramount. STILL says
its continuous improvements in fuel efficiency allied with
Hybrid drive technology can help ring postive change
Humanity only has until 2020 to
avoid a collapse of the climate.
These are the latest alarming
findings of the third part of the study by
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC). The period to change
direction is thus passing faster and faster
and this is why from now on, each
contribution to save carbon dioxide
emissions counts. STILL Materials Handling,
leading supplier of intelligent Intralogistics,
is proactively helping to reduce the
industry's carbon footprint through product
development.
The IPCC has been established by the
World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)
and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) to assess scientific and
socio-economic information relevant for the
understanding of climate change, its
potential impacts and options for
adaptation and mitigation. The reports
provide a comprehensive and up-to-date
assessment of the current state of
knowledge on climate change.
For many years STILL has been aiming to
continually reduce the fuel consumption of
its trucks. The idea is simple: reduced fuel
consumption equates to fewer carbon
emissions and reduced running costs for
the end user.
With the design and launch of each new
truck STILL has always strived to increase
operating efficiency through new
technology and clever design. Nowhere is
this ethos more prevalent than with the
launch of the new RX 70 diesel and LP gas
counterbalance forklift trucks. The exciting
new RX 70 is the only truck available with
Hybrid drive technology technology that
STILL has been developing and successfully
implementing for over two decades. The
result? The RX 70, claims STILL, uses less
fuel than any other diesel forklift, like for
like, in the world.
The STILL RX 70-25 diesel, for example,
consumes just 2.5 litres of fuel per hour
(measured in accordance with the new VDI
2198 standard, prescribing 60 work cycles
per hour). This makes the RX 70 by far the
most economical truck in its class and
because of this it emits the least carbon
dioxide.
For the RX 70 this means emitting only
6.4 kilograms of CO2 per hour in operation.
Indicating this value in 'grams per
kilometre', as in the automotive industry,
makes little sense as a forklift's fuel
consumption not only relates to travelled
distance, but to the moved load as well.
Carbon dioxide is an incombustible gas,
smelling and tasting slightly sour. In small
amounts (0.03 to 0.036 percent) it is a
natural component of the atmospheric air.
In larger quantities, however, CO2
contributes much more to the green house
effect than any other gas affecting the
climate such as Methane,
Chlorofluorocarbons or Nitrous Oxide.
Carbon Dioxide is the end product of
combustion, independent of the fuel used:
diesel, petrol, turf, carbon, wood, natural
gas or oil. Since the beginning of
industrialisation the share of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere has increased by some
30 percent. The global warming of the
recent years seems to be the consequence
eleven of the past twelve years see the
highest temperature rise since the
beginning of recordings in 1850.
STILL's advantageous Diesel/Electric
drive
On this background, it quickly becomes
apparent that a significant change of
direction is necessary. The STILL drive,
using Hybrid technology, is an important
and sensible step in the right direction. The
drive consists of a diesel or LP gas internal
combustion engine to drive a generator.
This in turn generates electrical energy
used to power the travel motor. This
energy saving design greatly reduces diesel
consumption and emissions generated. As
well as this, STILL has designed a hydraulic
displacement pump to pump the hydraulic
oil only as required. On conventional trucks
the hydraulic oil is pumped continuously,
burning precious fuel in the process.
The STILL design further aids fuel, and
therefore emissions, savings.
STILL continues to follow the path of fuel
reduced operations for its' future trucks.
STILL's adage, 'all technology is welcome,
providing it helps to save energy', has never
been more important. Not only does this
technology help the environment, but also
STILL's customers as well because here,
economics and ecology go hand in hand. More articles from Still Materials Handling: | 
