Low-Sulfur Diesel Fuel now on sale in the U.S.
10-22-06, 03:27 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Low-Sulfur Diesel Fuel now on sale in the U.S.
Time marches on.
One of the big steps that we have often discussed here in CL diesel threads...and one that was promised by the EPA and oil companies....has now come to pass. The EPA rules mandating low-sulfur diesel fuel in the U.S. are now in effect, and that fuel is now being sold publically. This new fuel ( as we have discussed many times ) will enable a whole new generation of automotive diesels now popular in Europe, and Japan to a lesser extent, to go on sale in Europe. VW, for example, the largest manufacter of diesel-powered cars in the U.S,. temporarily dropped its diesel line here for 2007 but will re-introduce a whole new line of Common Rail Direct Injection Diesels next year for the 2008 model year. ( Yes, I will review at least one of them when they become available ).
Warren Brown, the Washington Post's staff auto writer, who I know casually ( I'm not close friends with him ) did a fairly good write-up on this subject in today's Post....I am including it with my own post here.
Two things Warren didn't touch on, though, is price and the suitability of the new fuel to existing auto diesels. As far as the first question goes, what little I have seen of the new diesel fuel is that, due to the initially high cost of refining it, it is substantially more expensive, right now, than 87-93 octane gas ( a possibility that we discussed many times before ) so any gains in fuel economy are going to be offset, initially, by the fuel price. As more of it is produced, the price may go down. (?) Look, for example, at how much 87-93 octane gas has dropped in just the last couple of months....a whole dollar, and still dropping.
Second, the compatability of the new fuel with existing diesel engines, to an extent, is a question mark right now. For those of you who have present-generation diesels, my best advice is to consult your dealer service managers or the manufacturer's ( most likely VW or Mercedes ) service bulletins. Some stations may sell the old diesel fuel along with the new diesel fuel for awhile, but this, of course, depends on tank space.....many stations will not have space to store two different diesel fuels, and the new law may not allow the sale of the old stuff much longer anyway, like back in the 70's when leaded gas was phased out in favor of unleaded gas....different-size fuel nozzles were used until the leaded stuff was completely gone. ( Some people cheated by using store-bought plastic nozzle adapters that allowed the larger leaded-fuel nozzles to fit unleaded-fuel cars, but all those people did by saving a few cents a gallon was ruin their expensive catalytic converters ).
I still, personally, think that, in the long run, diesels make more sense as high-mileage vehicles than gas-electric hybrids do, ( for reasons we have already discussed in past threads ) although, of course, the high initial cost of the low-sulfur fuel admittedly may be a problem for awhile, and hybrid diesel-electrics promise the best mileage of all ( at some added complexity ) short of hydrogen fuel-cell cars, which are still some years off.
One of the big steps that we have often discussed here in CL diesel threads...and one that was promised by the EPA and oil companies....has now come to pass. The EPA rules mandating low-sulfur diesel fuel in the U.S. are now in effect, and that fuel is now being sold publically. This new fuel ( as we have discussed many times ) will enable a whole new generation of automotive diesels now popular in Europe, and Japan to a lesser extent, to go on sale in Europe. VW, for example, the largest manufacter of diesel-powered cars in the U.S,. temporarily dropped its diesel line here for 2007 but will re-introduce a whole new line of Common Rail Direct Injection Diesels next year for the 2008 model year. ( Yes, I will review at least one of them when they become available ).
Warren Brown, the Washington Post's staff auto writer, who I know casually ( I'm not close friends with him ) did a fairly good write-up on this subject in today's Post....I am including it with my own post here.
Two things Warren didn't touch on, though, is price and the suitability of the new fuel to existing auto diesels. As far as the first question goes, what little I have seen of the new diesel fuel is that, due to the initially high cost of refining it, it is substantially more expensive, right now, than 87-93 octane gas ( a possibility that we discussed many times before ) so any gains in fuel economy are going to be offset, initially, by the fuel price. As more of it is produced, the price may go down. (?) Look, for example, at how much 87-93 octane gas has dropped in just the last couple of months....a whole dollar, and still dropping.
Second, the compatability of the new fuel with existing diesel engines, to an extent, is a question mark right now. For those of you who have present-generation diesels, my best advice is to consult your dealer service managers or the manufacturer's ( most likely VW or Mercedes ) service bulletins. Some stations may sell the old diesel fuel along with the new diesel fuel for awhile, but this, of course, depends on tank space.....many stations will not have space to store two different diesel fuels, and the new law may not allow the sale of the old stuff much longer anyway, like back in the 70's when leaded gas was phased out in favor of unleaded gas....different-size fuel nozzles were used until the leaded stuff was completely gone. ( Some people cheated by using store-bought plastic nozzle adapters that allowed the larger leaded-fuel nozzles to fit unleaded-fuel cars, but all those people did by saving a few cents a gallon was ruin their expensive catalytic converters ).
I still, personally, think that, in the long run, diesels make more sense as high-mileage vehicles than gas-electric hybrids do, ( for reasons we have already discussed in past threads ) although, of course, the high initial cost of the low-sulfur fuel admittedly may be a problem for awhile, and hybrid diesel-electrics promise the best mileage of all ( at some added complexity ) short of hydrogen fuel-cell cars, which are still some years off.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-22-06 at 03:55 PM.
10-22-06, 03:36 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Here is the text of Warren's article:
Time to Step on the Diesel
By Warren Brown
Sunday, October 22, 2006; Page G02
We were averaging 31 miles per gallon, which would not have been spectacular in a four-cylinder economy car. But this was a 2007 Mercedes-Benz ML320 CDI -- a luxury midsize, all-wheel-drive, V-6 diesel sport-utility vehicle capable of pulling a trailer weighing 5,000 pounds and carrying 1,400 pounds of cargo.
The "CDI" in its name stands for "common rail direct injection," an advanced diesel technology used for nearly a decade in many European countries.
The technology is becoming more popular in Japan. And thanks to newly implemented federal rules requiring the sale of cleaner diesel fuel, CDI diesel vehicles and their equivalents soon will be traveling highways in the United States.
This is a good thing for energy conservation, clean air, the automobile industry and consumer choice.
CDI diesels require low-sulfur diesel fuel, the kind that began flowing to fuel stations in most parts of America on Oct. 15, the day the new federal regulations took effect.
According to the Diesel Technology Forum, an information clearinghouse for the nation's diesel industry, low-sulfur diesel is 97 percent cleaner than the predecessor formulations of diesel fuel that, when burned in traditional compression-ignition diesel engines, produced the smoky, particulate pollution blamed for causing lung cancer, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
Low-sulfur diesel reduces those risks. And low-sulfur diesel burned in modern common rail direct injection engines helps to reduce those risks even more.
The diesel engine, developed by German engineer Rudolf Diesel in 1892, compresses the air-fuel mixture in combustion chambers until it becomes super-heated and ignites, thus producing the power to move drive shafts and wheels.
Diesel engines use no outside ignition device, such as a spark plug.
In traditional diesel engines, a piston pushes air to the top of the combustion chamber, compressing and heating it to the point where it can then receive and ignite an injection of diesel fuel.
Common rail direct injection diesels constitute a major development in compression-ignition technology. A high-pressure pump stores a reservoir of fuel in a tube -- the "common rail" -- that branches off into computer-controlled injection valves. The fuel is precisely metered, meaning that it is delivered at the optimum combustion point for a cleaner, more complete, more powerful burn.
High-sulfur diesel fuel undermines the performance of exhaust-control devices on diesel engines "the way lead once impeded the effectiveness of catalytic converters in gasoline cars," according to the Diesel Technology Forum. "Removing the sulfur from diesel will usher in a new generation of clean diesel technology applications across all vehicle types," the forum predicts.
There is reason to believe.
Sales of diesel-powered passenger vehicles in Western Europe, where there are heavy taxes on gasoline, account for nearly 50 percent of all new cars and trucks sold in that region. It is policy with a purpose.
The European reasoning is that diesel-powered vehicles are from 20 to 40 percent more fuel-efficient than their gasoline-powered counterparts. Placing onerous taxes on gasoline to shift consumer buying habits to diesel is seen in Europe as an effective energy conservation policy, especially now that low-sulfur diesel and common rail direct injection engines have rendered diesel a less onerous environmental burden.
But skepticism remains in the United States, where diesel models account for only 3.2 percent of the market and where vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz ML320 CDI remain barred from sale in California, Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont -- states that have imposed stringent emissions-control regulations.
But even more advanced diesel engines are on the way from foreign and domestic car companies. Technology will team with political clout, the latter wielded by powerful automobile dealer groups in those states that now bar diesel sales, to make passenger diesel cars and trucks available everywhere in America. It's just a matter of time; and time, in this case, is on diesel's side.
Time to Step on the Diesel
By Warren Brown
Sunday, October 22, 2006; Page G02
We were averaging 31 miles per gallon, which would not have been spectacular in a four-cylinder economy car. But this was a 2007 Mercedes-Benz ML320 CDI -- a luxury midsize, all-wheel-drive, V-6 diesel sport-utility vehicle capable of pulling a trailer weighing 5,000 pounds and carrying 1,400 pounds of cargo.
The "CDI" in its name stands for "common rail direct injection," an advanced diesel technology used for nearly a decade in many European countries.
The technology is becoming more popular in Japan. And thanks to newly implemented federal rules requiring the sale of cleaner diesel fuel, CDI diesel vehicles and their equivalents soon will be traveling highways in the United States.
This is a good thing for energy conservation, clean air, the automobile industry and consumer choice.
CDI diesels require low-sulfur diesel fuel, the kind that began flowing to fuel stations in most parts of America on Oct. 15, the day the new federal regulations took effect.
According to the Diesel Technology Forum, an information clearinghouse for the nation's diesel industry, low-sulfur diesel is 97 percent cleaner than the predecessor formulations of diesel fuel that, when burned in traditional compression-ignition diesel engines, produced the smoky, particulate pollution blamed for causing lung cancer, asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
Low-sulfur diesel reduces those risks. And low-sulfur diesel burned in modern common rail direct injection engines helps to reduce those risks even more.
The diesel engine, developed by German engineer Rudolf Diesel in 1892, compresses the air-fuel mixture in combustion chambers until it becomes super-heated and ignites, thus producing the power to move drive shafts and wheels.
Diesel engines use no outside ignition device, such as a spark plug.
In traditional diesel engines, a piston pushes air to the top of the combustion chamber, compressing and heating it to the point where it can then receive and ignite an injection of diesel fuel.
Common rail direct injection diesels constitute a major development in compression-ignition technology. A high-pressure pump stores a reservoir of fuel in a tube -- the "common rail" -- that branches off into computer-controlled injection valves. The fuel is precisely metered, meaning that it is delivered at the optimum combustion point for a cleaner, more complete, more powerful burn.
High-sulfur diesel fuel undermines the performance of exhaust-control devices on diesel engines "the way lead once impeded the effectiveness of catalytic converters in gasoline cars," according to the Diesel Technology Forum. "Removing the sulfur from diesel will usher in a new generation of clean diesel technology applications across all vehicle types," the forum predicts.
There is reason to believe.
Sales of diesel-powered passenger vehicles in Western Europe, where there are heavy taxes on gasoline, account for nearly 50 percent of all new cars and trucks sold in that region. It is policy with a purpose.
The European reasoning is that diesel-powered vehicles are from 20 to 40 percent more fuel-efficient than their gasoline-powered counterparts. Placing onerous taxes on gasoline to shift consumer buying habits to diesel is seen in Europe as an effective energy conservation policy, especially now that low-sulfur diesel and common rail direct injection engines have rendered diesel a less onerous environmental burden.
But skepticism remains in the United States, where diesel models account for only 3.2 percent of the market and where vehicles such as the Mercedes-Benz ML320 CDI remain barred from sale in California, Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Vermont -- states that have imposed stringent emissions-control regulations.
But even more advanced diesel engines are on the way from foreign and domestic car companies. Technology will team with political clout, the latter wielded by powerful automobile dealer groups in those states that now bar diesel sales, to make passenger diesel cars and trucks available everywhere in America. It's just a matter of time; and time, in this case, is on diesel's side.
10-22-06, 06:07 PM
#3
Super Moderator
Mexico has had high-sulfur diesel (along with its other two gasolines, Magna and Premium for years) and recently improved in light-years with its Premium, now down to 30 ppm.
Still, all that time we have had diesel cars and trucks of all types down here on the roads.
Glad to see we finally got the idea in the U.S.
Still, all that time we have had diesel cars and trucks of all types down here on the roads.
Glad to see we finally got the idea in the U.S.
10-22-06, 06:12 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Mexico has had high-sulfur diesel (along with its other two gasolines, Magna and Premium for years) and recently improved in light-years with its Premium, now down to 30 ppm.
Still, all that time we have had diesel cars and trucks of all types down here on the roads.
Glad to see we finally got the idea in the U.S.
Still, all that time we have had diesel cars and trucks of all types down here on the roads.
Glad to see we finally got the idea in the U.S.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
