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STATE OF THE INDUS TRY: DIE SEL TEcHNOLOgY
OEM Off-Highway | OCTOBER 2013 www.oemoffhighway.com 25
Clean Diesel 2.0A brief look into the world of diesel power in both on- and off-highway vehicle applications, emissions reduction tactics and the future of clean diesel technology solutions.
by Allen Schaeffer, Executive Director, Diesel Technology Forum
After more than 10 years in the mak-
ing, hundreds of patents and billions
of dollars invested, a new generation
of clean diesel engines is here, well
beyond the test labs and increas-
ingly found under the hood, on the
jobsite and moving into the mainstream in all its
glory, but with virtually no emissions.
It’s been a long and defining journey. Not every
engine, emissions control device or strategy was
a home run. Valuable lessons have been learned
along with a whole new lexicon: EGR, CRT, VGT,
LNT, DEF and SCR. Hard to imagine that just a
decade ago, diesel engines had few or none of
these technologies.
The transformational changes that define new
clean diesel technology have truly changed the
world view on diesel—still the icon of work and
efficiency but no longer the icon for air pollution.
This change in diesel is manifesting itself in
many places. Ten years ago, skeptics frequently
opined doubt that Americans would or could ever
embrace diesel cars after the failed 1980’s legacy
experience and the negative views on heavy-duty
trucks and some off-road equipment. At the end
of 2012, diesel car and pickup sales were up 24%
compared to previous years, still representing
only about 3% of all new vehicle sales. Recent
announcements of a new Cummins 5.0L V8 diesel
option for the Nissan Titan pickup and a diesel
engine option in the Ram 1500 pickup are clear
indicators about the growing acceptance of clean
diesel power.
At the larger end of the spectrum, new genera-
tion heavy-duty trucks are also on the road. Of
the Class 4 to 8 trucks on the road today, 29%
are from 2007 or newer; 11% are 2010 and newer
models. These trucks are indisputably clean, with
the newest ones returning a 3 to 5% gain in fuel
economy compared to previous years.
The off-road sector has been on the same clean
diesel journey—trailing highway vehicles by
about five years and with less time to accomplish
the same clean air goals—and has arrived with
Tier 4 Final technology, set to roll out in January
1, 2014 for the higher horsepower ranges.
The new generation of diesel power now is a
participant in a future focused on greenhouse
gases (GHG), sustainability and energy efficiency.
CO2 is the new NOx and PMHaving met the challenge of reducing oxides
of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM)
while balancing customer needs, the industry is
well equipped to reduce the more complicated
CO₂ (carbon dioxide – the primary greenhouse
gas emitted through human activity1) emissions
and increase fuel efficiency.
There are more climate change regulations in
place and being implemented on diesel car and
truck engines than even the power-plant sector.
For heavy-duty commercial trucks, Phase 1 of
efficiency regulations that focus mostly on the
engine and expand deployment of on-the-shelf
technologies is segmented for implementation
starting January 1, 2014. Discussions are well
underway for Phase 2 reductions in the 2017-and-
beyond time frame. This is where everything gets
more complicated, harder to measure or model,
and with significant customer concerns entering
the picture.
At this point, there is no discussion from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
about regulating CO₂ reductions and efficiency
STATE OF THE INDUS TRY: DIE SEL TEcHNOLOgY
OEM Off-Highway | OCTOBER 2013 www.oemoffhighway.com 26
standards for off-road machines and equipment.
A lack of regulatory requirement has not deterred
manufacturers from innovating advanced sys-
tems to lower fuel consumption and improve
efficiency, and they’re doing it by leveraging the
equipment’s duty cycles, cutting idle time and
parasitic loads, and increasing machine produc-
tivity with GPS-based communications and task
control.
We haven’t heard the last of the emissions storyWhile reaching these near-zero emissions
milestones has been cause for celebration, by
no means have we heard the last of regulations
on criteria pollutants like NOx and PM. The
California Air Resources Board (CARB) has,
for the last year, been discussing “future volun-
tary NOx reductions” for heavy-duty trucks. It’s
hard to imagine getting nearer to zero emissions
than today, but the chatter is along the lines of
reducing the emissions by half of current levels
to meet the 2025 ozone clean air standard. What
exactly would it take for a further 50% reduction
of NOx? More importantly, what would it cost?
Is it a tweaking of current SCR technology or
the use of different fuels? Half of near zero will
be harder than half from Tier 0.
The Europeans in 2011 began implementing
new requirements for PM that also regulates the
number of particles emitted rather than just the
total mass of the particles, as is today’s practice.
California air regulators have also been looking
at the ultra-fine particle science. This becomes
an issue not just for diesel engines but also some
advanced gasoline engines that are using diesel-
like direct injection, which in turn produce more
particles.
Aftertreatment necessities?Meeting the Tier 4 off-road standards has been
a monumental task thanks to the sheer com-
binations of machines, engine sizes and horse-
power ratings; and consequently, engineering
emissions-reducing solutions has not taken a
one-size-fits-all approach. In some cases, the lack
of emissions technology used is making a bigger
statement than the technology that is used. The
fact that many engines may not need particulate
filters to meet the low PM standards is discon-
certing to some stakeholders, who have identified
a particulate filter as a tangible component of
clean diesel. Without it they say near-zero emis-
sions can’t be assured over the life of the engine
or machine and that the filter is “an insurance
policy.” Stand by for much more discussion on
that one.
Clean Diesel 2.0The diesel engine of the future will likely be
smaller in displacement, use fuels other than
just #2 diesel, be more integrated with hybrid
powertrains, have simpler emissions control sys-
tems, and be cleaner and more efficient. These
aren’t really predictions so much as present-day
realties.
The downsizing trend exists in passenger car
diesels where engineers are on their second or
third generation technology. Engines are shrink-
ing not by cc’s but by cylinders; from six cylinders
down to four (e.g. Mercedes, BMW) to achieve
higher fuel economy targets and cut the cost of
emissions control systems. More sophisticated
combustion control and multiple turbochargers
are picking up the slack, with SCR technology
to be an increasingly standard player in most
light-duty cars and pickup trucks.
The John Deere 644K Hybrid wheel loader uses a diesel engine running at steady state to turn an electric generator.John Deere WorlDWiDe construction & forestry Division
OEM Off-Highway | OCTOBER 2013 www.oemoffhighway.com 27
STATE OF THE INDUS TRY: DIE SEL TEcHNOLOgY
PT Tech is the leader in technical innovations for diesel engine clutches in the off-highway market. PT Tech’s HPTO series of wet clutches are meeting the OEM’s need for drive systems that are more fuel efficient than fluid drives and are synchronized with the machine’s overall electronic control system. PT Tech engineers developed a user friendly clutch controller to modulate the wet clutch for smooth start-up of high inertia machines. This user friendly controller monitors and reports the clutch status via SAE J1939 CAN messaging. In addition, the HPTO series integrates a wet clutch with continuously live hydraulic pump drives to fulfill the OEM’s need for auxiliary hydraulic power. PT Tech’s HPTO series of clutches are compact and fuel efficient to meet the demanding needs of today’s off-highway equipment.
PT Tech is an innovative leader in power transmission products for the off highway market. Specializing in diesel engine clutches and enclosed wet brakes for severe duty machines, PT Tech offers both standard products and custom engineered powertrain solutions. PT Tech’s expertise extends beyond the basic mechanical parts to include complete microprocessor-based control systems as well. These systems enhance the safety, reliability, and efficiency of the machines they control and are SAE J1939 compatible. Let the employee-owners of PT Tech provide the innovation for your extreme machines.
One Company, Two Powerful Solutions:Innovative Products & Custom Engineering
1441 Wolf Creek Trail, PO Box 305 Sharon Center, OH 44274-0305 | 330-239-4933 | www.pttech.com | [email protected]
Electric motors and hybrid powertrainsDiesel electric hybrid transit buses that use a
downsized diesel engine and hybrid powertrain
are now the most popular advanced technology
for leading transit agencies. But, in applications
where one would think hybrid technologies to be
most likely—i.e. passenger cars and light trucks—
there are none to be found. Dive into the sectors
like construction equipment and marine engines
where it is least expected, and they’re everywhere
from hybrid wheel loaders, excavators and doz-
ers from Caterpillar, John Deere, MTU, AGCO,
Yanmar and Volvo.
Finding ways to allow diesel engines to oper-
ate within the “sweet spot” of lower emissions
formation and highest fuel efficiency has been a
hallmark of construction equipment engineers.
Disconnecting mechanical and hydraulic link-
ages and replacing them with electrical ones is
creating new opportunities for efficiency. The
power demands for off-road engines are cyclical
and can come on big and fast, so ways to smooth
out that transient curve return significant sav-
ings in fuel efficiency and lower maintenance and
operating costs. More electric motors doing the
work of belt-driven wheels and pulleys can only
continue in the future.
Don’t assume a diesel engine is burning diesel fuelDiscussions or reference to the diesel engine have always been taken with the inference that the engine was running on diesel fuel. Today, just about all diesel engines—with the exception of some very large marine engines—are running on ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD). That’s prob-ably going to change in the near future because of the use of more biofuels in the mainstream fuel supply and the diversification of fuels, driven both by the nation’s focus on climate change and its desire to reduce reliance on imported oil, but also to seek out lower cost alternatives to the diesel engine. Expect more diversification of fuels in niche applications where fuel type and composition might be custom-tailored to local or
The 336E H uses the Cat C9.3 ACERT engine, which is designed to operate efficiently on ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel or a B20 biofuel blend.Caterpillar inC.
OEM Off-Highway | OCTOBER 2013 www.oemoffhighway.com 28
STATE OF THE INDUS TRY: DIE SEL TEcHNOLOgY
Founded in 1993, QA1 Precision Products, Inc. quickly became the #1 name in rod ends, spherical bearings, custom linkages and assemblies, and related products with over 1,000,000 units sold annually. QA1 started in rod ends and spherical bearings, and built its foundation on quality and afford-ability being the number one pri-ority. With over 6,500 SKUs on the shelf and 99% same day shipping, you are sure to find exactly what you need and get it quickly. If you need custom linkage products, QA1’s complete in-house design and engineering team and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility are dedicated to making it hap-pen. With a wealth of engineering and manufacturing expertise on staff, our products are designed, built and tested to ensure consis-tent quality, ultimate reliability and unbeatable performance. QA1 has the largest selection of linkage components in the industry, eco-nomical prices, unmatched quality and great customer service.
800.721.7761QA1.NET/INDUSTRIAL
Quality Rod Ends, sphERical BEaRings and linkagEs
regional air quality demands. A classic example of this is the move to using not only ULSD but also more biodiesel blended into home-heating oil in the Northeast.
Last year, just over 1.2 billion gallons of biodies-el fuel were produced in the U.S. while the overall on-road fuel use is anywhere from 35 to 40 billion gallons annually. Getting to bigger volumes and higher blend ratios of renewable biofuels requires more confidence in quality and consistency of the fuel by both users and manufacturers.
The policy push is unquestionably to lower-car-bon fuels. From the federal side, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is driving larger quantities of biodiesel and ethanol into the mainstream fuel supplies. In California, it’s a low carbon fuel standard slated for final adoption by the end of the year. In some cases future engines won’t even be running on diesel or biodiesel fuel at all.
Volvo Group recently announced its new
engine and truck designed to run on Dimethyl
Ether (DME, read more in Associate Editor Sara
Jensen’s article, Regionally-produced clean fuel),
which can be derived from a renewable process
and utilizes modified fuel systems and tanks to
deliver a propane-like fuel to the engine. Gas to
liquids (GTL) technology that has been perfected
in other parts of the world has only been a pass-
ing story here in the U.S. With the possibility of
more natural gas at lower costs, a GTL product
for diesel engines might come into the picture
in the near future.
Diversifying transportation fuels to go beyond
conventional petroleum fuels is going to be an
increasing topic of discussions, policy actions
and industry investments. The motivations come
in part as a response to the desire to reduce our
reliance on imported oil and use more domesti-
cally produced fuels. But for heavy-duty truck
owners, the persistent upward price trends on
diesel have led more truck owners to consider
natural gas technology.
Natural gas is not replacing dieselThe frenzy over the nation’s natural gas trapped
in shale—and the safety and other merits of the
fracking technology to set it free—are the subject
of great policy debates and pending regulatory
action. In the meantime, the multi-million dol-
lar advertising campaigns funded by natural gas
producers are leaving an impression on some that
natural gas is or has already replaced diesel. Not
exactly.
About 200,000 heavy-duty trucks were sold
in 2012 and about 2,000 of those were fueled
by natural gas. Expanding the nation’s domes-
tic fuel supply by using more natural gas and
home-grown biofuels including renewable diesel
fuel is a good thing for the U.S. economy, jobs
and engine and equipment makers. A realistic
assessment about the true costs of natural gas
is needed. One that has been missing from the
OEM Off-Highway | OCTOBER 2013 www.oemoffhighway.com 29
STATE OF THE INDUS TRY: DIE SEL TEcHNOLOgY
Hybrid Off-Highway Insulation TechnologyOff-highway exhaust systems have unique demands. High temperatures, constant vibration and frequent impacts from rocks and debris combine to create an extreme environment for the sensitive electronic components that govern today’s after-treatment systems.
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debate, for example, is the consideration as to
what federal and state government regulations
will do to the cost of gas extraction. At the end
of the day, engine and equipment makers want
to provide technologies that meet the needs of
their customers, so there is little doubt more
natural gas engines will find their way into niche
heavy-duty truck markets where it may make
more economic sense.
According to energy forecasts from ExxonMobil,
the International Energy Administration and the
President’s National Petroleum Council, diesel
fuel will displace gasoline as the number one
transportation fuel by 2020. This should come
as no surprise, since the global economy is pow-
ered by diesel, and countries like India, China and
Latin America are demanding more diesels to
fuel their infrastructure and other development.
Here at home gasoline is on a slow downward
trend due to mandates for increasingly efficient
gasoline cars and trucks (going from 27.5 mpg
today to 54.5 by 2025), higher blends of ethanol
in gasoline and more vehicles that don’t use any
petroleum fuels at all.
The future is expanding for uses of new clean
diesel technology. When it comes to the popu-
lation of existing engines and equipment of the
previous generation, things are less clear. Steady
declines in government assistance funding over
the last few years (everywhere except California)
have stagnated the modernizing and upgrad-
ing, repowering and retrofit application of fil-
ters and other emissions reducing technologies.
Transitioning from legacy products to new prod-
ucts is the ultimate answer, but these products
and their owners are still an important consid-
eration for the future image and opportunities
for the diesel system.
This emissions journey has changed the world
view on diesel. Reaching the destination means
diesel will still be a predominant player in the
ever-growing mix of technologies for the future.
More consumers today have a positive view of
diesel as a technology than ever before, as they
buy diesel cars and trucks for their personal
transportation in record numbers. In turn, let’s
hope that translates into a wider appreciation of
the benefits and capabilities of new clean diesel
in construction machines, farm equipment and
big rig trucks. ●
The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit
national organization dedicated to raising aware-
ness about the importance of diesel engines, fuel
and technology. Forum members are leaders in
clean diesel technology and represent the three
key elements of the modern clean-diesel system:
advanced engines, vehicles and equipment, cleaner
diesel fuel and emissions-control systems. For more
information, visit www.dieselforum.org.
1 United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA); Overview of Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Carbon Dioxide Emissions. U.S. EPA, Washington DC, USA. http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/co2.html
New Emission Standards Mean Higher Temperatures. Higher Temperatures Demand Better Insulation Technology.
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