Well, Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) has been readily available all of three days, let's argue about it. Yesterday, the president and CEO of the American Chemistry Council, Jack Gerard, issued a statement saying that U.S. lawmakers need to change the policy regarding access to domestic natural gas sources if we're going to keep making ULSD. Why is this, you ask? Because you can use hydrogen to desulferize diesel fuel. So while we've now got diesel engines that emit up to 90-some percent fewer particulates, we've also got to get all this extra hydrogen.
Gerard's statement was, in part, "Today, most ULSD is produced by treating the fuel with hydrogen to remove sulfur and other impurities. Most of that hydrogen is produced directly from methane contained in natural gas. Yet federal policies continue to put most U.S. natural gas supplies off-limits. If the nation is to be successful in our pursuit of cleaner diesel fuel, then Congress needs to change energy policies to help bring about reliable, affordable access to natural gas."
If you're interested in the details of diesel hydrotreatment possibilities, check out this article from when the Department of Energy looked at the issue of ULSD techniques in 2001.
[Source: American Chemistry Council]
Gerard's statement was, in part, "Today, most ULSD is produced by treating the fuel with hydrogen to remove sulfur and other impurities. Most of that hydrogen is produced directly from methane contained in natural gas. Yet federal policies continue to put most U.S. natural gas supplies off-limits. If the nation is to be successful in our pursuit of cleaner diesel fuel, then Congress needs to change energy policies to help bring about reliable, affordable access to natural gas."
If you're interested in the details of diesel hydrotreatment possibilities, check out this article from when the Department of Energy looked at the issue of ULSD techniques in 2001.
[Source: American Chemistry Council]
Sign in to post
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Continue