LW-02-131 LUBRICANT BASESTOCK AND ADDITIVE EFFECTS ON DIESEL ENGINE EMISSIONS

Description:

The Advanced Petroleum Based Fuels – Diesel Emission Control (APBF-DEC) activity is a joint government/industry research effort studying the needs of future low-emission diesel engine systems. The previously completed Diesel Emission Control – Sulfur Effects (DECSE) project1 quantified the impact of diesel fuel sulfur on the performance and short-term durability of diesel emission control devices [diesel oxidation catalysts (DOC), lean-NOx catalysts, NOx adsorber catalysts, and diesel particle filters]. Because some of these new technologies have demonstrated a sensitivity to fuel-borne sulfur, considerable research was conducted and regulations limiting the permissible levels of sulfur in diesel fuel were promulgated. However, the sensitivity of the devices is so extreme, and the durability requirements of heavy-duty commercial vehicles are so long, that a reduced fuel sulfur level may not be enough to guarantee the long-term performance of new emission control systems, if other sources of catalyst poisons are found to exist.