Applications

On-road heavy-duty transport

Shell GTL Fuel is already being used in public buses, city utility vehicles and heavy-duty trucks in Europe. In these applications, Shell GTL Fuel offers:

5-37% NOx reduction range*
10-38% particulate matter reduction range*

After conducting several field trials over the past decade across the globe, no maintenance or operational issues were discovered. Customer experience has been very positive with drivers commenting on reduced ordour and exhaust smoke and driveability compared to conventional diesel.

Off-road vehicles

Shell GTL Fuel can also be used in off-road machinery such as construction cranes, diggers, power generators and trains. The engine technology in off-road vehicles tends to be less sophisticated than that in on-road. Furthermore, the fuel specifications are less stringent and therefore the possibility for seeing emissions benefits with GTL Fuel is potentially greater.

In these applications, Shell GTL Fuel offers:

6-25% NOx reduction range*
10-90% particulate matter reduction range*
Reported noise reduction of approximately 3-5dB*

The off-road trials have shown that Shell GTL Fuel can be used effectively as a ‘drop-in’ fuel in a wide range of applications under different operating conditions.

Marine

Offshore vessels, inland barge, tourist boats and cruise ships in Europe are already using Shell GTL Fuel. In marine applications, Shell GTL Fuel offers:

6-13% NOx reduction range*
15-60% particulate matter reduction range*
Reported noise reduction of approximately 8dB

Shell GTL Fuel’s non-toxic and biodegradable properties also ensure that employees on ships, boats and bunkering stations are less exposed to toxic fuels, as well as reducing potential risks to the environment

^{* Ranges are used to account for the fact that benefits may vary from engines of different sizes, powers, manufacturers etc. This range is not exact: It represents the maximum variation is results observed in scientific experiments which compared emissions from Shell GTL Fuel with conventional diesel. These trials were conducted by both Shell laboratories and a variety of independent organisations: On-road data was gathered both from Shell in-house laboratories and in partnership with independent test partners including AVL, TNO, Millbrook UK, NREL USA, among others. Off-Road data was gathered from customers who performed their own independent tests and shared their detailed results with Shell. Marine data was gathered by external test houses like SGS NL BV investigating vessels sailing on GTL, and from independent tests by marine engine manufacturers. Some more details of these tests can be found at the end of this paper.}