Volvo's Umea Cab Plant to Become Carbon Dioxide-Free
Volvo Trucks has decided to make another of its production plants carbon dioxide-free. Its Umeå cab factory in northern Sweden has signed an agreement with Umeå University and utility supplier Umeå Energi for a preliminary study on development of a process for replacing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with locally produced eco-friendly bio-synthetic gas.
The aim of the agreement is for a preliminary study to develop a new gasification process together with Umeå University. A gasification plant is planned for the Volvo Trucks cab plant for the production of environmentally optimised bio-synthetic gas. This technology, whereby the forestry industry’s residual by-products are ground down and gasified in a flow reactor, was developed by Umeå University.
"Volvo Trucks is highly positive to the venture and is working actively to improve the environment," says Lars Mårtensson, Environmental Affairs director at Volvo Trucks.
Since the early 1980s, Volvo Trucks in Umeå has been working actively on energy and environmentally-related issues. For instance, the company has replaced oil with district heating for its industrial premises, and has been highly successful in reducing emissions of solvents from the plant’s new paintshop. For example, over the past decade, solvent emissions into the air have been reduced by more than 80 per cent.
The next stage in the process of making the factory carbon dioxide-free is to eliminate all use of LPG in cab production. Today LPG – a blend of fossil gas substances – is used in the paintshop’s drying process.
Volvo Trucks had already previously adopted a decision to make its vehicle plants in Gent in Belgium (Gent) and Sweden (Göteborg) carbon dioxide-free.
The Volvo Trucks Umeå factory manufactures cabs for trucks that are assembled in Gent and Göteborg. In 2005, the factory produced just over 51,000 cabs.
Your Comments
|
