SCR – A Tale of Two Paths to EPA 2010
September 2008 - As Navistar tries to reach EPA 2010 standards via alternative methods, Daimler Trucks of North America (DTNA), Volvo Trucks North American (VTNA) and most recently Cummins are moving on…
Based on proven technologies and the optimized engine performance demonstrated in Europe, DTNA and VTNA are driving down the Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) path to achieve EPA 2010 standards. SCR is the only technology equipped to save fuel and meet the needs of business customers while also meeting the stringent EPA 2010 emissions standards.
On the business side… DTNA will pair Detroit Diesel Corp.’s DD15 engine with Daimler’s proven and North American version of its BlueTec System for increased fuel economy and near-zero selective catalytic reduction of harmful emissions. As a result, new Detroit Diesel BlueTec SCR engines will offer a 3-5 % fuel economy benefit over non-SCR engines in 2010.
Meanwhile, Navistar has announced plans to roll-out non-SCR EPA2010 engine options which the company reports are expected to take up to 2% fuel economy penalty compared to their EPA2007 versions. These engines will use extreme EGR, Exhaust Gas Recirculation, which works inside the engine to limit NOx; however, this extreme EGR application works at the cost of performance efficiency. When EGR is supplemented with SCR, as will be the case with the new DD15 BlueTec System with SCR, performance efficiency is regained and the engine operates in an optimized fashion.
Other than the maintenance-free SCR technology, DD15 engines with SCR will be placed in trucks that offer leading technologies such as best-in-class vehicle aerodynamics, adding even more benefits in fuel efficiency. For example, Freightliner’s Cascadia, recognized by the EPA as one of the most aerodynamic heavy duty trucks on the road, offers the most productive, drivable and profitable truck on the market. According to the EPA, the Cascadia, alone, can reduce fuel consumption by 10-20 percent.
SCR is a proven and well known technology. In fact, SCR has become the technology of choice for many manufacturers in European countries, where Daimler, DTNA’s parent company, has sold more that 100,000 trucks configured to meet the needs of more than 100 different applications to date.
Environmentally speaking… SCR’s proven and reliable reputation and its ability to produce the cleanest, lowest tailpipe NOx emission levels ever are why industry leaders, such as Detroit Diesel Corp., are designing the BlueTec System into 2010 engines.
When EPA 2010 standards go into effect, no heavy-duty diesel engine can be emitting levels of nitrogen oxide higher than .2 g/bhp-hr, a standard more stringent than any in place in Europe. SCR is the only technology that has been proven to be able to meet this standard.
The question then is not “why SCR?” It is “why not SCR?”
