Diesel emissions in surface work environments

[Nige]

Another point to ponder here ......... the locally-available fuel.

Where I am currently working the local fuel is based on Venezuelan (high-sulphur) crude oil. When refined to produce diesel fuel the result is a fuel containing up to 2000ppm of sulphur compared to 500ppm in low-sulphur (LS) diesel and 15ppm in ULS diesel. There is no way this fuel can ever be burned in a way that produces emissions to the standards demanded by the authorities in developed countries, but in this case it's the only fuel available at a competitive price. Even then the pump price is US$5 a gallon. How can a country with very little in the way of resources and even less money be expected to modernize if they can't even get the basic building blocks (the fuel in this case) to help them start on the path of cleaning up their environment if they are saddled with even higher fuel cost per gallon than a developed country ...? How much is a gallon of diesel at the pump these days in the US ..?

I know that initially we looked at importing our own supply of ULS diesel so that we could use the latest generation of emission-certified engines in our equipment & vehicles. The cost was so high it would make your head spin. At the end of the day we bought equipment with engines in it that were designed to run on the best quality of locally available fuel. It was all we could do if we wanted to remain competitive.

Believe me I don't have all the answers, maybe I don't have any answers. Just trying to put a different viewpoint on it.

 

[MTI Mark]

Reel, I found out that our "best in class" brand of catalysts are MSHA listed, PA DEP and Norwegian Maritime Directorate certified, but as of yet not CARB certified. I am not sure if they are in the process of getting CARB certified, but I will be asking. With that said, let me ask you a question: With a price tag of approximately $10-11k for a catalyst to fit a 40-50hp application, could you justify such a purchase if it allowed you to legally utilize your equipment in California?
There may be other brands that are already CARB certified, I will look into into this for you as time permits. Unfortunately they will not have emission reduction numbers that are as good, but may allow you to get your equipment certified to for use in CA.

Nige, our line of catalysts will handle high sulphur fuel unlike the competitors, but if you dont have to meet emissions requirements it isnt going to matter really. I cant say that I have specifically looked at the diesel price at the pump, but it is around $4 per gallon here in NY state which is generally 25 to 50 cents higher than the rest of the country, with exception to maybe California. We are currently at $3.45 for gasoline locally.

Speaking of fuel types, biodiesel was supposed to do big stroke of business in relation to emissions. The local mines here in northen NY were using it to help reduce mainly DPM. Unfortunately they had alot of filter problems after switching over, along with the fact that it doesnt work well in cold weather such as that we have here 4 months a year. I have heard that mines actually get a credit of some sort for using biodiesel, so it makes the fuel cheaper to buy than dino diesel. Another example of our US tax dollars hard at work.

 

[Nige]

When you're burning what we burn a day (20,000 gallons give or take) that extra $1 per gallon becomes a large sum of money right quick.
We were looking at somewhere around $7/gallon to get ULS diesel imported IIRC. Back at that time diesel here was maybe $3.25/gallon.

 

[Reel hip]

(Working from last post forward)
Nige I see the point and the point is the bottom line. When that much fuel is being burned daily no company would spend $3.75 more for a gallon of fuel. I have had the same argument with CARB now for years regarding their regulations. Plainly put it will put companies out of business. The regulations are hurting us financially to the point that we can't afford to work legally. We will break the rules until we get caught and then get forced out of business because we can't afford the fines.How is this helping the economy?
MTI Mark. Some of the guys may be interested in your product! keep looking into the time line for "CARB verified". Some pieces of equipment are worth retrofitting and some aren't. CARB does offer financing and grants thru an outside source, but sadly some don't qualify. 2010 engine standards are what they are trying to achieve in trucks and tier 4 is their ultimate goal with equipment.The time line and fleet size is complex at best per the regulations delaying time for tier 1,2,and 3. I know Diesel Gal knows the regs if she gets on this board.

 

[Diesel gal]

Good Morning Everyone,

To: MTI Mark - I've been reading all the posts regarding emissions. California has a different set of regulations for every type of diesel motor. They have a saying here "if it's diesel, it's regulated". Off road diesel equipment (off-road meaning the engines provide motive power) are 25hp and above. Portable equipment (concrete pumps, wood chippers, etc.) are 50 hp and above. A catalyst that runs $10 - 11 K isn't feasible for portable equipment when a new engine is around $7000. Off road equipment, particularly the large earth moving machines are good candidates for DPF's because these machines are so expensive to begin with. The biggest problem I've found is the lack of aftermarket DPF's for smaller off-road equipment. For example, Bobcat manufactures a scrubber that cleans up their engines to a higher standard than mandated by CARB but they don't seem to be interested in having them certified by California. And why not? My guess is that they'd rather sell a newer machine than a scrubber that costs less than $5000.00. I'm impressed with the fact that your company can clean up Tier 0 engines. Unfortunately in California their stance is that "an uncertified Tier 0 motor can never become a certified engine.

To: Reel Hip - On top of the portable and off-road equipment, the Truck and Bus Regulation is now going into effect. The first deadline for reporting is January 31, 2012. If anyone runs in California, and you want to take advantage of any compliance exemptions in order to delay retrofitting you must report. There are several options for achieving this. This is very important, IF YOU RUN A CONSTRUCTION TRUCK AND WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LOW MILEAGE CONSTRUCTION PROVISION, REPORT BY 01/31/12. The State is only allowing a total of 9,000 trucks in this program. One last thing to remember is, off road equipment engines are Tiered engines. The On-Road Truck and Bus Rule establishes engine categories by the Model Year of the Engine and the manufacturers GVWR.