10-12-2006, 02:17 PM
Clean Diesel Hits U.S. on October 15
The Daily Auto Insider
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
October 2006
This Sunday up to 76,000 U.S. filling stations will convert to clean diesel fuel, allowing eight million diesel-powered trucks and buses on U.S. streets and highways to fill up with a new, ultra-low sulfur fuel that is 97 percent cleaner than the old formulation it replaces. The new fuel, combined with innovative engine technology, will reduce diesel tailpipe pollution dramatically, with far-reaching clean air benefits, say both industry and environmental organizations.
Cleaner diesel fuel will immediately cut soot emissions from any diesel vehicle by 10 percent. But when combined with a new generation of engines hitting the road in January, it will enable emission reductions of up to 95 percent, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF).
The new fuel opens the door for auto companies to begin offering cleaner diesel cars that deliver greater fuel economy. Pumps dispensing cleaner diesel fuel in the United States will allow Mercedes-Benz to roll out the first of four models in North America featuring its newest diesel technology. The E320 Bluetec sedan, which goes on sale next week in most states and in Canada, is equipped with a system that drastically lowers emissions of soot and other pollutants associated with diesel.
"Diesel vehicles have always been 20 to 40 percent more energy efficient than comparable gasoline engines," said Allen Schaeffer, DTF executive director. "With the switch to cleaner fuel, consumers will see more fuel-efficient diesel cars, pickups and SUVs on showroom floors in the years to come."
Improvements in both the fuel and the engines are required under new federal rules adopted by the Clinton administration and subsequently endorsed and implemented by the Bush administration. The diesel clean-up rivals the removal of lead from gasoline a generation ago. A new 2007 diesel truck will emit just one-sixtieth the soot exhaust of one produced in 1988.
Clean, ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel is important because sulfur tends to hamper exhaust-control devices in diesel engines, much the same way lead once impeded the effectiveness of catalytic converters on gasoline cars. Removing the sulfur from diesel will help usher in a new generation of clean diesel technology applications across all vehicle types.
The Daily Auto Insider
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
October 2006
This Sunday up to 76,000 U.S. filling stations will convert to clean diesel fuel, allowing eight million diesel-powered trucks and buses on U.S. streets and highways to fill up with a new, ultra-low sulfur fuel that is 97 percent cleaner than the old formulation it replaces. The new fuel, combined with innovative engine technology, will reduce diesel tailpipe pollution dramatically, with far-reaching clean air benefits, say both industry and environmental organizations.
Cleaner diesel fuel will immediately cut soot emissions from any diesel vehicle by 10 percent. But when combined with a new generation of engines hitting the road in January, it will enable emission reductions of up to 95 percent, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Diesel Technology Forum (DTF).
The new fuel opens the door for auto companies to begin offering cleaner diesel cars that deliver greater fuel economy. Pumps dispensing cleaner diesel fuel in the United States will allow Mercedes-Benz to roll out the first of four models in North America featuring its newest diesel technology. The E320 Bluetec sedan, which goes on sale next week in most states and in Canada, is equipped with a system that drastically lowers emissions of soot and other pollutants associated with diesel.
"Diesel vehicles have always been 20 to 40 percent more energy efficient than comparable gasoline engines," said Allen Schaeffer, DTF executive director. "With the switch to cleaner fuel, consumers will see more fuel-efficient diesel cars, pickups and SUVs on showroom floors in the years to come."
Improvements in both the fuel and the engines are required under new federal rules adopted by the Clinton administration and subsequently endorsed and implemented by the Bush administration. The diesel clean-up rivals the removal of lead from gasoline a generation ago. A new 2007 diesel truck will emit just one-sixtieth the soot exhaust of one produced in 1988.
Clean, ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel is important because sulfur tends to hamper exhaust-control devices in diesel engines, much the same way lead once impeded the effectiveness of catalytic converters on gasoline cars. Removing the sulfur from diesel will help usher in a new generation of clean diesel technology applications across all vehicle types.