Meeting engine emission regulations challenges

New engine emission regulations pose major challenges for engine manufacturers - Geoff Ashcroft reports

The arrival of emissions regulations in January for engines over 130kW has meant that engine makers have adopted varied technologies to meet and exceed those goals. For the end user though, buying new kit that complies with Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB emissions regulations is likely to carry additional costs.

The Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB emissions apply to diesel engines producing 130-560kW. This means that Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) levels must be reduced by 45% and particulate matter (PM) must be reduced by 90%, when compared to current Stage IIIA requirements.

And by 2014, when Tier 4 Final/Stage IV legislation arrives, NOx levels need to be cut by an additional 45% for engines above 130kW. It is no coincidence that fuel quality has also had to fall into line too, and what has been tagged clean diesel, ultra-low sulphur diesel (ULSD), has now become much more readily available for off-highway use.

Previous fuel quality, or the lack of it, has allowed off-highway diesel to contain a maximum allowable sulphur content of up to 1000parts/million, and this has now been slashed to 15 parts/million for North America and 10 parts/million for Europe, with the latest fuel supplies.

196 Cummins Engines says that ULSD fuel is legally required for Tier 4 Interim engines in North America and Stage IIIB engines in Europe, failure to do so would make it impossible to comply with the reduced level of PM that is now required.

"High levels of sulphur will dramatically reduce the effectiveness of the exhaust after-treatment, which dictates that ULSD is necessary for most after treatment processes," said Steve Nendick, Cummins' communication director. "Ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel also produces less PM from combustion and will also enable a major reduction in sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions from off-highway engines." But European operators should not mistakenly look forward to higher-quality diesel fuel to feed their high-tech Stage IIIB engines, as the majority of off-highway ULSD, particularly in the UK, is likely to be gas oil treated with an excise dye.

This fuel is likely to be given additional lubrication properties to replace those provided by the now reduced sulphur content. But more worrying though, is the cetane level of the two fuel types.

Cetane is a measurement of ignition quality. With ULSD road diesel produced to EN590 specification, the cetane level must achieve a minimum level of 51 or more - with gas oil, the minimum level is just 45.

There is also a suggestion that gas oil can contain from zero to 7% Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), which is the basis for Bio-diesel. FAME can be touted as a lubricant, though it also acts as a solvent and needs greater care in storage. And ULSD that contains FAME will also deteriorate quicker than ULSD without such content, and it is more prone to bacterial growth if water is present too.

So check with fuel suppliers to establish exactly what is going into the tank, and ensure that old stocks of fuel are run down and replaced by the low sulphur fuel before taking delivery of that Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB equipped machine. If possible, ask for fuel to EN590 specification.

So how have manufacturers responded to meet today's emissions standards, which are widely regarded as one of the biggest challenges to face the industry for many years? 299 Perkins has taken the opportunity to deliver better performance, while providing flexible, highly integrated engine solutions that will provide the end user with a productive machine, operating with low cost throughout its life.

"Some sectors of the industry perceive that the best fuel economy in engines of 300hp or less is achieved with a 'two-fluid' solution using a catalyst and urea fluid," said Perkins' product marketing manager Allister Dennis.

"Perkins testing, however, revealed that an after-treatment methodology based on utilising NOx Reduction System and a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) delivers up to 5% better fuel economy than SCR-based systems in real-world applications and parity elsewhere." Mr Dennis said that when it comes to after-treatment systems, one size definitely does not fit all. And knowing how customers actually use its engines led Perkins to design a service-free DPF for use on the 1206E-E66TA and 1204E engines. These engines use low-temperature regeneration technology that eliminates high engine bay heat while being completely transparent to the operator. In these models the DPF requires no ash service over the projected life of the engine and a 500-hour oil change interval remains.
"And much of our existing technology works well for Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB engines, including field-proven electronic sensors and controls as well as fixed geometry turbo chargers," he said.

2394 Volvo Construction Equipment will adopt a combination of 'in-cylinder' and 'external' solutions to meet the emissions reductions requirements, a route the company claims it is in a strong position to do, boosted by its ability to transfer its vast experience and technology from its global on-highway truck and bus solutions.

The new generation V-ACT (Volvo-Advanced Combustion Technology) engines feature ultra high pressure variable fuel injection systems, cooled exhaust gas recirculation (E-EGR), variable geometry turbocharging, powerful engine management systems and an integrated exhaust after treatment system that features a particulate filter and thermal regenerator.

2723 Fiat Powertrain Technologies is another company that can draw on its experiences of meeting emissions legislation through supplying truck and bus engines. As a result, its current range of engines has adopted different systems depending on the engine family, the power range and the specific application.

For medium-heavy applications, the C, N and V series engines will use an SCR (selective catalytic reduction) treatment system, which FPT says guarantees a number of significant advantages in construction applications.

Typically, these advantages include lower fuel consumption (up to 7% less than Tier 3/Stage IIIA); high specific power output (up to 35kW/litre); a working life equal to the machine's life cycle; easy installation with no need for changes in the engine bay.

FPT says that the ability to use post-engine treatment methods takes the restrictions off the combustion process compared to those chasing in-cylinder treatment methods, which is said to have reinstated the once-lost engine characteristics of early diesels. And 600-hour service intervals are currently in use.

255 JCB reckons to have cracked emissions legislation for Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB in the 56-130kW sector without the need for any exhaust after treatment or diesel particulate filter (DPF). With help from engine specialist Ricardo, JCB has focussed its research and development efforts on a high-efficiency combustion chamber design that improves the burn process of its four-cylinder Ecomax T4 engine, which is the latest manifestation of JCB's Dieselmax 444 power plant. "We don't create the pollutants to start with, which this means cost savings and less hassle for customers concerned about after-treatment systems," said JCB director of engine programmes Alan Tolley.

"The expectation for the first part of Tier 4 Interim/Stage IIIB legislation was that to achieve these really low particulate levels you needed to fit a diesel particulate filter (DPF)," he said. "But when you look at that technology for our particular part of the market, namely mid-range construction equipment, we see there are some real disadvantages with that solution, in particular increased fuel consumption through increased back pressure to the engine. Also, in many applications load cycles are light and the DPF doesn't self-regenerate so you have to force it to do so and it needs fuel to do it." There are currently two sizes of Ecomax engine: 4.4 and 4.8litre, with all models benefiting from cooled exhaust gas recirculation, a variable geometry turbocharger and second generation common rail fuel injection from 1657 Delphi Diesel which sees injection pressures raised to 2000 bar.

In addition to retaining 500-hour service intervals, the revised combustion chamber design has also helped to give a 10% improvement in fuel economy over the Tier 3 version. Power output has been improved too, with the flagship 4.8litre Ecomax T4 capable of producing 129kW and 750Nm of torque at 1500rpm.

257 John Deere Power Systems (JDPS) continues to use cooled EGR for NOx control, while choosing DOC and DPF exhaust after-treatment filters for reducing particulate matter. This combines with proven existing technology on its PowerTech Plus engine platform, including high-pressure common rail fuel injection, variable geometry turbocharging, air-to-air after cooling and full-authority electronic engine controls.

Concerns over urea distribution needed for an SCR after-treatment process has led 178 Caterpillar to use a combination of cooled EGR and DOC and DPF across its engine range, with C7.1-C18 Acert engines over 130kW available with CEM, the Cat Clean Emissions module.

CEM is a flexible modular package of DOC, DPF, active regeneration system, exhaust silencer and air filter, which is said to minimize the footprint of the after-treatment package and simplifying both installation and maintenance requirements.

Cat says its DPFs have a 5000 hour service requirement and while engine oil service intervals remain unchanged at 500 hours, the firm says low ash engine oils are needed.