Amarillo biz to knock NOx

The press to reduce emissions from diesel vehicles continues, and the Pilot Travel Center in East Amarillo on Interstate 40 will be one of the first in the chain to offer diesel exhaust fluid at the pump.

Pilot will initially equip 24 stations, including the Amarillo one, to dispense the fluid, according to a convenience store industry publication.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been phasing in compliance with regulations to reduce all kinds of bad stuff that diesel engines can spew. Ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel is one way refiners and drivers are complying, reducing sulfur by about 90 percent.

The new deadline approaching next year is for smog-producing nitrogen oxide (NOx). There are a couple of ways to cut that, but the diesel exhaust fluid to be sold at Pilot works with selective catalytic reduction where the injection of the fluid into the exhaust of a diesel engine makes nitrogen oxide into nitrogen and water vapor.

I know, 10 years from now we might find out we’re creating a bigger problem, but that’s the plan for now.

The North American SCR Stakeholders Group is pushing for this technology over the other ones on its Web site.

The trade/government group touts SCR for its performance advantage, saying initial test results show that SCR will increase fuel efficiency by about 3-5 percent.
The group claims the reduction of pollutants includes:
• Nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 90%
• Hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by 50-90%
• Particulate matter (PM) emissions by 30-50%