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NRELÕs ReFUEL Laboratory National Renewable Energy Laboratory ¥ A U.S. Department of Energy National LaboratoryLubricants (ReFUEL) Research Laboratorywill be used to facilitate increased renewablecan be used to displace imported petroleum,esearch at ReFUEL will be used to helpengine manufacturers meet the increasinglystringent heavy-duty emission standards that will be required beginning in 2007.(ReFUEL) Research Laboratory is NRELÕswith specialized testing and measurementter, an engine test cell, and a fully equippedin the United States dedicated to researchingand developing renewable and syntheticReFUELÕs mission is to provide the facilitiesequired to identify, test, and evaluate renew-use in ground transportation, to enable highefficiency operation while displacing petro-leum products. The laboratory will also be electric vehicles and to conduct cross-cuttingesearch for NRELÕs Center for TransportationechnologiesÕ Fuels Utilization Program.How do the pieces fit together?The heavy-duty chassis dynamometer fordeveloping advanced trucks and busesFuels, engines, and emission controls worktogether as a system, and may behave differ-buses. For example Òin-useÓ performancemay differ from engine lab performance or ReFUELÕs Heavy-Duty Chassis Dynomometer Heavy-duty engine test cell for fuels research and developmentThe research and development conducted at the ReFUELLab will focus on renewable fuels that can be blendedwith petroleum fuels and are compatible with existingand future engine designs. This research is importantbecause by 2007-2010, U.S. engine manufacturers willbe required to meet increasingly stringent emissionsequirements. Unfortunately, emissions reductions oftencome at the expense of fuel efficien-cy. Therefore one of the primaryemissions to be reduced withoutcompromising the superior energyefficiency of todayÕs diesel engines.The engine test cell consists of roof-top units that control the tempera-ture and humidity of the intake aira DC (direct current) electricdynamometer. The engine test cell dynamometer israted at 450 hp at 5000 rpm and has a 1500 ft-lb peaktorque. Engine speed and torque are controlled for bothEmissions analysis laboratoryNREL investigates fuels and lubricants that can reduceboth regulated and unregulated emissions species.Analysis allows researchers to better understand theimpacts on the environment and human health. ReFUELÕs emissions laboratory is used to measureemission, monitor system performance, and measureemission bench to measure gaseous emissions includ-ing regulated emissions like carbon monoxide, totalhydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides. Carbon dioxide,nitric oxide, and nitrogen monoxide are also measured. Particulate matter is collected on 70 mm Teflon filtersfilters are subsequently weighedusing a microbalance. Hydrocarbonemissions are for processing at other labs. Inaddition, NREL labs in Golden,Colorado, can further characterize unregulated exhaustemission species. The ReFUEL Lab conforms to EPAWhat happens next?Future developments at the ReFUEL lab will includewith new instrumentation. NREL also intends toincrease its in-house capabilities for molecular charac-terization, fuel property measurement and analysis, and sample preparation. Researchers in the lab willand to establish correlations between fuel molecularstructure, combustion/reaction quality, and thermalefficiency and emissions. Over the last 30 years, medium- and heavy-duty truckshave been one of the fastest growing fuel use areas inthe transportation sector. The ReFUEL Laboratory pro-vides the facilities required to identify, test, and evalu-ate renewable and synthetic fuels and lubricants for usein heavy-duty ground transportation. This will enablehigh efficiency operation while displacing petroleumproducts and reducing emissions. ReFUELÕs Heavy-Duty Engine Test CellNRELÕs ReFUEL LaboratoryNRELÕs ReFUEL Laboratory