The fleet of vehicles now consumes over 120,000 liters of diesel less per year than it did in 2008. Pollutant emissions have also been drastically reduced since then.
Using trucks with SCR technology is crucial for reducing pollutant emissions. This technology sees a urea solution, known as AdBlue, injected into the exhaust gas flow as a reducing agent. Already one or two years before the new European emissions standards came into force, BauMineral made sure to comply with the values required at the time when procuring new vehicles, going so far as to accept higher investments. As a result, nitrogen oxide emissions fell from almost 23,000 kg in 2008 to around 640 kg in 2019 — that's less than 3% of the original figure! All other values have been significantly reduced too: CO2 emissions to about 70 percent, non-methane hydrocarbons to 25 percent and particles to 10 percent.
AdBlue tank
Exhaust unit
While installing more efficient technology in new vehicles is making a significant contribution to reducing emmissions, this alone is not enough. "The best lever," says Logistics Manager Jörg Putschker, "is to reduce diesel consumption, for example by using vehicles to their full capacity. This has been increased from around 65 percent to around 75 to 80 percent today — by collecting power plant by-products from the plants, for instance, while supplying them with limestone powder for flue gas desulfurization at the same time."
"Having adequate vehicles and using the right means to drive them are very important too," adds Technical Fleet Manager Heinz Techtmeyer. "Our trucks are 400 HP, which is the most common engine size in the logistics sector in Germany and is completely sufficient for our purposes. Even though some drivers would obviously like to have a bit more power under the hood. Our trucks drive at a maximum speed of 85 km/h, because the last 5 km/h up to the speed limit saves very little time but significantly increases fuel consumption. Twice a year, our drivers undergo special training in forward-thinking, fuel-saving driving."
Although the enhancements have made trucks lighter or at least stay the same weight, nowadays driver-friendly equipment such as refrigerators, climate control systems and standalone air-conditioning units are increasing consumption up. "Despite this, we've managed to significantly reduce our fuel consumption thanks to all these measures," says Jörg Putschker. "In 2008, we needed an average of 38.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers. By 2019, we'd brought this down to 34.7 liters. With more than 3 million kilometers driven each year, we’re saving over 120,000 liters of diesel annually."
It goes without saying that this lower diesel consumption also helps save money — and the more eco-friendly the trucks, the lower the toll fee. The additional costs incurred from the new acquisition and the AdBlue only partially offset this, however: "As a disposal and supply company, environmental protection is a topic we encounter on a daily basis," explains the logistics manager. "We are therefore genuinely committed to being as environmentally friendly as possible, including with our fleet of vehicles."
