Engine makers declare path to ’07

TORONTO (Jan. 9, 2004) — Engine makers in the U.S. have officially announced their technology plans for meeting another round of Environmental Protection Agency heavy-duty emission regulations taking effect in 2007.

While active particulate filters for diesel engines is the expected method to control PM levels, there still may be slight differences in how various engine makers approach the task of lowering NOx.

The new EPA standards introduce a NOx limit of 0.2 g/bhp-hr (down from the 2004 level of just above 2 g/bhp-hr), which must be fully phased-in by 2010. Over the 2007-2009 period, this NOx limit must be met 50 per cent, based on the manufacturer’s fleet. Manufacturers will meet this 50 per cent requirement by certifying all their 2007-2009 engines at approximately 1.1 g/bhp-hr NOx.

Cummins, Caterpillar, and International have all announced their ’07-compliant engines will use the same base technology as their ’04, and by extension, their ’02-compliant engines. Cummins confirmed that it will continue to use exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), while Cat is working on an advanced version of the ACERT technology it employed in its ’02 engines.

Detroit Diesel, on the other hand, is still debating the use of urea-SCR technology, the solution that will be used in the Europe in 2005. Urea-SCR uses a NOx reducing agent — a water solution of urea — that is injected into the exhaust gas upstream of the SCR catalyst. The urea solution must be carried in an onboard tank, and must be periodically replenished. DD said they would finalize their decision later this year. Other past supporters of the SCR such as Volvo and Mack did not issue statements at this time.

However, some industry and EPA officials have told Today’s Trucking that U.S. regulators are not optimistic about SCR as a solution for the North American market — at least not in ’07. They cited the cost of the system, as well as the lack of a continental urea distribution infrastructure, as drawbacks for the immediate future.

Moreover, 2007-complaint emission control systems must operate without maintenance for at least 150,000 miles according to EPA rules. Therefore the urea solution would need to be replenished approximately once every 5,000 miles. There are also concerns the urea would freeze in colder climates, requiring expensive heaters in the urea tank and hoses.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with Today’s Trucking, representatives from Cummins said they are optimistic the industry can avoid a pre-buy fiasco to the degree that erupted in the year before the release of the ’02-compliant engines. During that time, many fleets chose to buy used trucks or sat on current equipment to avoid maintenance and fuel economy uncertainties of EGR and ACERT technology at the time.

— with files from the Ontario Trucking Association