American Diesel ??? Europien Diesel ???

[Mundgyver]

Who knows exactly what the difference is between good old USA #2 Diesel and the supposedly squeaky clean European Diesel



I have seen allot of comments about European fuel being better than the nasty dirty stuff we serve up here. So I am curious just what are the exact differences and how could we or what would we have to do to make our fuel better



A curious mind tends to wander and look for answers

 

[DieselRam30]

I believe that their fuel is low-sulfur fuel, or at least lower sulfur content than the fuel we currently have here. That will change in 2006 when low-sulfur fuel arrives. So the fuel will get better.



Also, starting in 2007, the U. S. will phase in some of the strictest diesel emissions standards in the world. This includes a 90% reduction in NOx and particulate emissions over the already lower 2004 levels.

 

[Mundgyver]

With the low sulver fuel, does it affect your MPG? I suspect that the sulfer would be considered a wear component of the fuel or would this be wrong?

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Interesting thread and question - all recent "knowledgeable" info - some direct from Bosch - leads us to believe our US fuel is inferior. Even many of the foreign automakers refuse to import their vehicles to this country due to our "inferior" diesel fuels...



Is that "inferiority" *all* related purely to sulphur content - or are there other factors as well, such as wide domestic variations in our fuel purity and strict quality control over issues such as Cetane and lubricity?



Yeah, what ARE the actual differences between our diesel fuel, and that in Europe - and will our new diesel fuel standards address *ALL* differing issues related to fuels delivered to consumers at their local stations - or only that related to sulphur content?

 

[Dl5treez]

Effective Jan. 2000, the European Union (EU) minimum cetane level is 51.



U. S. minimum cetane level is 40.



Effective Jan. 2005, European Union (EU) maximum sulfur content is 50ppm. By 2009 it will be 10ppm.



U. S. maximum sulfur content currently sits at 500ppm and is slated to drop to 15ppm sometime in 2007.



Those are the biggest differences.

 

[Dl5treez]

Ttt

Can't let this die so soon, can we?

 

[Mundgyver]

I suppose the dropping of Sulfer to such low levels will be good for the air but I would imagin that our pocket books will suffer very hard :{

 

[DieselRam30]

I think the hardest part is going to be for manufacturers to meet the new tough emissions regulations and still keep prices at a reasonable level. This is especially true if exhaust after-treatment such as urea is used. Hopefully, Cummins will (and I hear they are well on their way) to finding a solution while maintaining the legendary reliability, efficiency, and power of their engines.

 

[Mundgyver]

I wish Cummins would step up to the plate and put together a small engine diesel that would fit into a car the size of a VW or Mercedes that would get 50+ mpg. If they would do that, I would be first in line to get one. They must have someone that is thinking about this or at least entertained the idea.