It's here! Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel officially arrives today
It's here! The next important step on the path to new clean diesel in the U.S. has occurred today, October 15th. It was by today that 80 percent of diesel fuel available for vehicles like trucks and buses had to be new Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), and reports are saying that implementation of the new fuel has so been so swift that today it stands at 90 percent. Back on June 1st refiners and fuel importers were required to start producing ULSD, and last week production of the clean diesel rose to 2,539,000 barrels per day and inventory stands at 52,342,000 barrels. Older diesel-powered vehicles will see a 10-percent reduction in particulate emissions right off the bat by using the new fuel, while new diesel engines designed to take advantage of it will cut their particulate emissions by 95 percent. This is due to the fact that the new ULSD contains only 15 parts per billion of sulfur, compared to the old fuel's 500 parts per million. The next major step on this path comes on January 1st, when all diesel engines sold in the United States will have to meet these stricter emissions standards. Until then, you can spot which pumps are offering ULSD by looking for the sticker above. Other stickers touting the new fuel can be found here.
[Source: Diesel Technology Forum]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Carlos Rivera 2:31PM (10/15/2006)
This is so great!!!
I think that new cleaner diesel engines will kill the growing hybrid trend, until electric cars arive...
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ME 2:40PM (10/15/2006)
"This is due to the fact that the new ULSD contains only 15 parts per billion of sulfur, compared to the old fuel's 500 parts per million."
You mean 15 parts per Million, correct?
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dana 2:54PM (10/15/2006)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-Low_Sulfur_Diesel
Wikipedia says 15 parts per million is correct.
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cars specifications 3:17PM (10/15/2006)
Great. this is a huge step. From 500 to 15 parts per million we have to feel difference very quickly
http://www.auto-specifications.com/
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Zo 4:02PM (10/15/2006)
4 of the 6 local gas stations in my area have a single diesel pump, but I have yet to see the sticker. I hope this brings on some of the Euro-diesel cars. At 40 mpg I will take the minor performance hit to get the extra mpg. You can keep the electrics. Like all new technologies they may solve one problem only to cause another.
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JAY 3:55PM (10/15/2006)
Why are all the spammers like "car specification" and other fools spamming autoblog comments. Something needs to be done ASAP!
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TalD 4:02PM (10/15/2006)
YES!!
Maybe this will increase # of diesal auto engines, increase diesel fuel production, increase our fuel milage rate and lower the cost of diesel powered vehicles and the diesel fuel.
Simplistic way to look at a possible situation but I'm not an economist.
I'm sure there are other factors that will play parts in the evolutionary changes that may take place.
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Kurtis 4:15PM (10/15/2006)
Yeah!!!!
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greg 5:26PM (10/15/2006)
"cars specifications" is just another nom-de-spam for "auto-power-girl".
Another f'n bottomfeeder who doesn't have the acumen (or the 'nads) to drum up business the old-fashioned way - by earning it.
(Hell, we're reading Autoblog, and it often would be better if written by a 4th grade dropout. The bar is pretty low...)
Sorta like Karesh who constantly pimps his half-assed "auto-delta" site. Which, analyzing his methodology, is only a teensy bit more accurate than random cards in the mail. In fact, in some ways, less so.
If these spammers spent half as much energy writing as they do whoring their sites, they'd have more readers than they know what to do with.
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louis 6:27PM (10/16/2006)
What I want to know is the price difference. Is it going to be less expansive or more?
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broman78 9:54PM (10/15/2006)
Why would diesel prices go down if more diesel powered vehicles are on the road? Even if production goes up the loss in fuel efficiency from the new trucks will cut into the increased production. I believe trucks will lose 1%-2% in fuel economy, because of the new exhaust requirement is 2007 engines.
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chewy 10:21PM (10/15/2006)
Finally. About time.
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superdutydave 11:51PM (10/17/2006)
Yes this is good, but you all must remember that FEWER gallons of diesel is refined from a barrel of crude oil. A larger amount of gasoline is refined from each barrel of crude.
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Ben 2:25AM (10/16/2006)
Will the 2005 and 2006 Mercedes E320 CDI's see a 95% drop as in particular emissions as well? And the 2003+ Volkswagen TDIs?
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Mike 9:44AM (10/16/2006)
This is great - but does anyone know if the railroad's will be required to use the new fuel??? From what I know, they have always been exempt and allowed to use "High Sulfer" diesel in their engines for years. Think about how much diesel a train engine uses. I always thought of it as the "Dirty little secret" of the Railroad Industry
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shayne 11:01AM (10/16/2006)
This should be a great thing - automakers have been hesitant to bring diesel passenger cars to the US en masse because of the high sulfur content in US diesel, and the resulting difficulty in making diesel cars meet emissions standards.
In europe, you can buy most American passenger cars w/ diesel engines already. DaimlerChrysler, for example, puts Mercedes diesel engines in the PT Cruiser, Caravan/Voyager, and others. Hopefully we'll see those cars trickle into the US market. A diesel minivan seems like a neat idea anyway. A nice high torque engine with good fuel economy and low emissions would probably make minivans that much more attractive for families. As an added bonus, diesel engines are typically more durable and reliable than their gasoline counterparts.
Plus, having an increase in diesel vehicles would make a petrol shortage less dire, as almost all modern diesel vehicles can run biodiesel with little or no modifications or additives.
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Keith 11:08AM (10/16/2006)
Now lets see diesel cars, light trucks, SUVs, etc.
Am I the only one looking forward to a small passenger car with 500 lb. ft. of torque from about idle?
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minesgeek 11:47AM (10/16/2006)
i wonder if this will affect legislation in CARB states so that we will see new diesel cars for sale once again...
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asurroca 1:45PM (10/16/2006)
Only recently, I've started seeing Low Sulpher Diesel (500 ppm) stickers on gas station pumps. Does this mean that these stations that only recently started using Low Sulpher Diesel need to get ULSD immediately now? Because I can imagine your average fuel station dragging their feet as much as possible otherwise...
I've got to fill up my Bug this week, I'm hoping it's with ULSD!
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Steve2 2:34PM (10/16/2006)
Mike:
In-harbor ships and railroads can no longer use bunker fuel anymore in California, from August 4, 2005 on. They must use road-going fuel. Up until this summer that meant 150ppm CARB Diesel. I don't know if they must use the new fuel.
http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/diesel/diesel.htm
Note that the new regulation is 15ppm average, it is something like 30ppm max. The old regulation (outside California and the NE area that follows CARB) was 500ppm max, not average. So the reduction isn't quite as large as it seems.
minesgeek & Zo:
This does affect CARB states outside California (which adopted ULSD months ago). Many car makers cannot meet these regulations, so you will see Diesel engines disappear in California again next year.
shayne:
Diesel cars do not have low emissions! If they had low emissions, they wouldn't keep disappearing from CARB states. Diesel cars still do not even have to meet the same regulations as gas cars, and they still can't meet them! If Diesels were as clean as gas cars, they wouldn't have to be removed from the market.
See graph in link:
http://www.naftc.wvu.edu/NAFTC%20eNews/December%2005/2006standards.html
US Diesel regulations are tighter than Europe regulations but are still not as tight as gas regulations in the US. That is why you keep seeing these European Diesel cars disappear, not some kind of conspiracy.
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