The FY 2007/2008 Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Program provided SunLine Transit Agency (SunLine) with funding to upgrade an existing CNG station in Indio by replacing an undersized Sulzer 120 scfm @ 30 psig inlet compressor with a new compressor with a flow capacity of 310 scfm. In addition, the existing dryer was replaced with a dryer that was appropriate for the upgraded compressor and the existing IMW for a total of 650 SCFM output combined.
The 120 scfm compressor unit was only capable of flowing 1 GGE per each minute, whereas a 310 scfm compressor can flow two and half times the rate of the old compressor. The time saving difference between the two compressors can range from 20 to 80 minutes, depending on demand and size of vehicle. In addition to the old compressor not only being undersized, it also exceeded its useful life expectancy, which lent itself to more mechanical breakdown and increasing maintenance costs.
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The Engineering of the project was done by Herbert Burnette, he was already on contract on a different project AQMD 07244 CNG upgrades to both of SunLine's Stations. The drawing plans were received on August 3, 2009 and bid package was received on August 18, 2009 for construction and procurement of equipment. As a recommendation from the Mechanical Engineer, an electrical panel evaluation was conducted on September 2, 2009 to ensure no electrical issues occur once the equipment was installed.
The selection process for the equipment was conducted after review of the bid package and justification was provided for Sole Source procurement from IMW as part of the bid package due to existing equipment purchased from IMW. The installation selection process was conducted with the vendor for the compressor
The plan for the upgrades did not impact the daily fueling activity for any length of time. Public and private fueling was operational and accessible through out the project, to the exception of installing the gas line connection, which took from 2 to 4 hours to install. The plan was to minimize and coordinate as much as possible to hasten the impact. These upgrades did enhance the current operation at this facility and ensured adequate fueling for both private and public customers. Currently, the annual though put is exceeding the minimum requirement of the 10 year outlook of 397,000 GEG/ year and is producing 520,000 GEG/year.
The Indio facility serves as a support center for vehicle maintenance, fleet dispatch, refueling, as well as a transfer location for nearly a third of SunBus daily riders. In order to fully service existing vehicles, and accommodate plans for expanding fleet and additional users, SunLine needed to upgrade the existing facility by replacing the undersized Sulzer 120 scfm @ 30 psig inlet compressor with a IMW compressor of minimum flow capacity of 310 scfm. This would enable the fueling station to increase the potential CNG flow capacity and drastically reduce fueling times.
The existing AirCell Dryer at the Indio facility was also replaced with a dryer that was suitable for the upgraded compressor. The AirCell Drier was only sized for the 120 scfm unit and was incapable of exceeding a flow capacity of 200 scfm. The AirCell Dryer was used only for the Sulzer unit and left all the gas that ran through the existing IMW Industries 315 scfm unit untreated. Consequently, this can caused numerous problems relating to fueling, storage and user's vehicles. The new dryer was rated at full capacity of the new compressor and has the ability to be used for both compressors. This treated all the gas that runs through the station to prevent any future problems with untreated gas.
This station is now being fully utilized. There are no plans for expansion of this station. However, older stations built in the 1990's will soon need to be updated or modified similar to this project to keep up with the demand of new vehicles.
The Indio fueling station, in its upgraded configuration, was able to accommodate full fill to 3,600 psig vehicles from all ranges of sizes. From light-duty trucks and sedans, such as taxi cabs, to heavy-duty vehicles, such as transit buses, street sweepers and school buses. The station has the maximum ability to accommodate 7,488 GGE per day. In addition, fueling times for transit buses was decrease from 120 to 30 minutes, with the upgraded compressor and dryer. This is mainly a result of being able to run both units at the same time which was not possible with the older configuration.
STA Co Sponsor
Herbert Burnett
EFS West
IMW Industries
PSP Manufacturing