GDI – Gasoline Direct Injection

GDI is the direct injection of gasoline (fuel) into the combustion chamber typically using a High Pressure Common Rail (HPCR) system.

 

 

HPCR uses a high pressure pump, typically above 15,000 psi (1034 bar) and potentially as high as 55,000 psi (3800 bar) to supply fuel to piezoelectric injectors. These injectors use stacks of ceramic crystal cells capable of producing up to nine (9) injections per combustion cycle. These cells expand slightly with an electrical charge and contract when that charge is removed. By stacking many cells together the small expansions and contractions are combined to create a movement sufficient to open and close an Injector Pintle in very consistent, very fast cycles.

Using one or more computer modules to control the fuel system (and several other operating parameters) allows the engine to create an Ultra lean burn or Stratified Charge condition where the normal stoichiometric ratio of 14.7:1 can be extended as high as 65:1 for short periods under light load or deceleration, Stoichiometric Condition during moderate load, and Power Condition where slightly richer than stoichiometric fuel ratios exist.

                This creates conditions allowing for much greater power output per given displacement (*higher power density), which can be translated into dramatically improved fuel economy, while significantly lowering emissions. This allows for example a six cylinder engine to produce the same (or more) horsepower and torque than a much larger 8 cylinder engine, but with a smaller size and less weight.

                All of this high technology equipment brings with it some challenges and problems. The move to GDI has caused some unexpected problems, the biggest one being “Intake Valve Deposits”.

                Intake Valve Deposits are caused by a combination of problems found in all gasoline engines’ that did not however become apparent until GDI was introduced.

                In all internal combustion engines, a small amount of fuel bypasses the piston rings, washing down the cylinder walls and into the crankcase. In the days before we started with Ethanol blended gasoline, that small amount of gasoline would vaporize and be sucked up by PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) system. That gasoline mixed with some vaporized motor oil would be burned in the engine with relatively little trouble.

However with the addition of Ethyl Alcohol (Ethanol) to gasoline has made the situation worse in several ways. First, Ethanol mixed with motor oil liberates (breaks down) some of the important additives found in motor oil. Components such as Phosphorous, ZDP or ZDDP (Zinc), and Sulfonated Ash separate from the oil and are then easily vaporized. The PCV system is powered by vacuum from the intake system and all of that vaporized material flows into the intake and flows over the Intake Valves. When that material hits the very hot intake valves, it condenses and then sticks forming rock hard carbon deposits on the valve stems and in and around the port area.

                In earlier engines with Port Fuel Injection, Sequential Fuel Injection, and Carburetors, fuel was mixed with air and traveled through some or all of the intake system which allowed that fuel to continuously wash over and clean the intake ports and intake valves. This did an excellent job of keeping these areas and components clean.

                Now in engines using GDI the fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber bypassing the intake, intake port, and intake valves so there is nothing to wash or help keep the valves clean.

                Next, Ethanol is Hygroscopic, meaning that it actually picks up moisture from the atmosphere and from condensation inside the engine and holds it in suspension. As the amount of water in the oil increases, you will reach a point where something called Phase Separation takes place, where the Ethanol and Water blend together and separate from the Motor Oil and any residual gasoline forming a distinct layer at the bottom of the crankcase.

This Ethanol/Water layer is a highly corrosive emulsion that will rapidly corrode the internal engine components and can have several other insidious effects. The layer is at the very bottom of the crankcase (underneath the motor oil) and this is where the oil pump pickup tube is positioned. When the engine is started, the oil pump immediately picks up this bad layer and pumps it throughout the engine. This can cause increased wear and will actually strip lubrication from all the engines moving parts.

Worse yet, if you live in area where the temperatures get below freezing, the water can freeze, actually blocking the pickup tube and starving the engine from all lubrication. Either of these situations can cause catastrophic engine failure.

There are several proactive things that can reduce or eliminate many of these concerns. The first involves a thorough cleaning of the inside of the engine.

Diesel EGR - Diesel Exhaust Gas Recirculation Systems

Exhaust Gas Recirculation is an emissions control system and or device used to reduce Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions.

Nitrogen Oxide emissions are among the most dangerous and difficult to deal with emissions from internal combustion engines (and other sources).

NOx is created when nitrogen and oxygen (air) react at high temperatures (combustion) and pressures. NOx released through the exhaust into the atmosphere then reacts with Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) and sunlight to form Photochemical Smog, which negatively affects all living things, in particular small children and the elderly with Asthma. This form of smog is very long lived in the atmosphere, breaking down very slowly.

The EGR system takes a portion of an engine’s exhaust gases, which after combustion have very little oxygen and nitrogen left in them and runs them through a cooler or coolers (using engine coolant or other closed loop cooling system fluid) which lowers their temperature and then using a valve, meters that cooled gas back into the air intake system.

This cooled exhaust gas displaces some of the oxygen and nitrogen from the incoming air, which in turn reduces combustion temperature, lowering the amount of NOx the engine produces.

In diesel engines, the amount of EGR (as controlled by the EGR Valve) can vary from near 0% to as high as 50% depending on engine speed, temperature, and load. Engine and emissions computer manage EGR levels.

In North America OEM’s initially tried, to use EGR as the primary or in some cases their only method of controlling NOx.

While EGR offers the positive effect of reducing NOx, trying to use very high levels necessary to lower NOx to the levels demanded by EPA regulations produces several serious negative effects; such as a significant reduction in power output, much lower fuel economy, an increase particulate production, and a number of other maintenance and operational issues.

The effect of taking volatile exhaust gases, which can contain over 1000 chemical compounds and rapidly cooling them, forces creation of condensate, which forms deposits, that are highly acidic, and can wreak havoc with sensors and system components. A soft, light, powdery carbon often plugs coolers, while a rock hard carbon forms in the valve and passage areas.

The high level of particulate production forces the Catalytic Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) to work harder and regenerate far more often using even more fuel.

The first sign of trouble is often a check engine light showing reduced EGR flow. There are usually accompanying problems such as poor performance, reduced fuel economy, rough running, and several other possibilities.

When under warranty, OEM shops typically first try to replace parts, such as the EGR Valve and or EGR Cooler(s).

While the valve or cooler may well be plugged, and replacing them may temporarily clear the code. Doing this without cleaning all the passages, tubing, sensors, the exhaust side of the Variable Geometry Turbocharger (VGT) found in the entire EGR system is usually a wasted effort.

This type of turbocharger is particularly susceptible to problems with engines producing high levels of particulates (black soot). This soot will attach to the vanes and prevent their proper movement, reducing or eliminating the advantages provided by VGT’s.

Cleaning the valve, the cooler(s) all of the passages on both the exhaust and intake sides as well as the exhaust side of a VGT is vital to restoring full power, fuel economy, and drivability to the engine.

Cleaning this system properly also reduces the load on the DPF, further improving mileage and power output.

With the advent of Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) using Diesel Emission Fluid (DEF) (Urea) to form Ammonia, which then reacts with a Zeolite or Precious Metal Catalyst to convert the NOx into Water Vapor, and CO₂ it becomes possible to reduce the amount or percentage of EGR.

Using SCR and EGR together produces an engine with very good operational characteristics, acceptable fuel economy, reasonable emissions, and fair maintenance intervals and costs.

That said; all EGR systems have maintenance issues. These issues are made better or worse depending on how the vehicle is used.

Diesel engines are at their best running at a steady state, for example running down the interstate at highway speeds under a load for long periods of time. When operated in this fashion, the EGR, SCR, and DPF systems are most efficient, and will operate with minimal maintenance.

However, when a diesel is operated under low load, stop and go, short runs, or is allowed to idle for extended periods, those same systems struggle to operate correctly. Cold Temperatures, poor quality fuels, and poor maintenance practices exacerbate these problems. Under these conditions, where components are not up to operating temperatures or where they are not run long enough to complete their operational cycles, they can very quickly (and expensively) fail.

There are a number of things that can be done to improve operational characteristics and reduce maintenance. High quality fuel is the most important. Your engine wants and needs clean, water free, contaminant free fuel. Your owner’s manual tells you that you need fuel with a Cetane rating of 45 to 50, yet most fuel sold in North America is only rated at 40. Raising Cetane above 45 will have a huge positive effect as will adding detergents that can remove both internal and external injector deposits. Removing water is vital for pump and injector longevity. Adding a synthetic Lubricity agent as well as thermal and oxidative stability agents. Improving fuel quality is an investment costing only a few cents per gallon that will provide benefits many times its minor cost. In what is both a challenge and an opportunity for dealers and repair facilities, customers need to be educated that adding certain types of high quality supplements to their fuel on a regular and on-going basis, can have a major impact on improving operability and reducing repair costs and down-time.

There are several high quality fuel additive or supplement products available today that can dramatically reduce EGR and DPF problems.

Also, at least three companies are offering professional technician service tools  and chemicals that quickly, safely, and very effectively clean the entire EGR system.

Setting a preventive maintenance program that includes an EGR service and using properly formulated fuel supplements can and will prevent many if not most problems with these systems.

Diesel EGR service together with DPF service are the two biggest problems facing owners of diesel powered vehicles. Repairs made under warranty, especially those repairs made multiple times, still have a negative effect on customer satisfaction. Vehicles “out-of-service” cost money far beyond the actual repair cost.

Diesel will be about 3% of Automobile and Light Truck sales this year (2014) and is expected to reach about 10% by 2017.

In Europe well over 50% of the new passenger, car and light trucks sold are diesel powered, with some countries being over 80%. In many cases, diesels perform as well as hybrids for less money. While here in North America, we are considerably behind in the move toward diesel, there is little doubt that this is the direction in which we are headed.

 

Diesel as Alternate / Alternative Fuel

History of Diesel.pptx

HDAW - Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week 2012

I have spent the past two days at the HDAW - Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week meeting and tradeshow in sunny Las Vegas.
This meeting brings together a broad range of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Truck, Trailer, and Heavy Duty Equipment with the Heavy Duty Distributors that provide coverage throughout the US and Canada.
I will be posting a number of new products and innovations that were presented this week.
The first is a new device by the OTC division of SPX.
The Portable Diesel Particulate Filter Cleaner part number 5286 is a far less expensive, simple to use device that uses high pressure shop air through a unique "floating puck" head that forces air through each individual passageway in the filter to blow out the ash created during regeneration of the traps.
The manufacturer claims that in most cases the use of this unit can eliminate the need to separately "bake" units before blowing the ash out using one of the earlier type machines.
This unit also could simplify disposal of the ash material.
To see this unit, here is a link to a You Tube video that OTC has posted at: http://youtu.be/PqUTwRUhCi8
I was impressed with the quality of the machine and with the simplicity of its operation.
It can clean DPF's from 6" to 15.5" in diameter.
Another significant feature is the portability of this unit. It can operate on 110 or 220 vac and on 12 vdc.
I will be very interested to hear back from anyone who has working experience with this machine.

Diesel and Middle Distillate Fuels 2011

Diesel fuel is defined as a mineral fuel oil for diesel engines and is part of the larger grouping known as middle distillates.

Middle distillates including kerosene, diesel, and heating oils are derived from crude oil using Atmospheric Distillation, Vacuum Distillation, Hydrotreating, Hydrocracking, Fluid Catalytic Cracking, and other methods.

This is important because within the consuming public there is a misunderstanding that diesel in particular is a homogenous product that has the same quality and characteristics everywhere. This is not the case; diesel fuels are refined from crude oils of different origins with different characteristics, different compositions, and different qualities. This refining takes place in refineries of different design and widely different capabilities, run by companies and people with vastly different competencies, that are trying to produce products to meet an ever changing customer, financial, and regulatory environment.

The result is the fuel you get can vary significantly from place to place and even from day to day in the same place.

Also now due to regulatory and environmental concerns the addition of biofuels to much of the diesel supply adds a whole new level of complexity because the base stocks and production characteristics and quality vary drastically. The addition of these biofuels has many implications and produces many problems for users of diesel and heating fuels.

This is important because the newest engines are being designed to run on laboratory grade diesel fuels that are close to perfect. The “perfect” fuel does not exist in the real world. They are also being evaluated for operability, reliability, performance, and emissions in near perfect conditions under ideal duty cycles. This produces engines that have excellent characteristics under ideal conditions, but that often perform less well under real world conditions.

Fuel Additives and Supplements are used in many processes in the drilling, production, crude transportation, refining, product transportation, storage, and ultimately use of fuels.

Without these Additives and Supplements there is no usable fuel.

For our purposes we will mainly be discussing post refining use of these products.

Fuel Additives and Supplements provide many necessary and beneficial characteristics including detergency to prevent the buildup of gums, varnishes, and carbon deposits in fuel tanks, fuel lines, pumps, filters, injectors, on and around valves, pistons, piston rings, exhaust gas recirculation (EGR’s) valves, computer sensors, turbochargers, diesel particulate filters (DPF’s),catalytic particulate traps (CPT’s), selective catalytic reduction (SCR) units, and other places; antioxidants to improve oxidative stability which slows or limits the reaction of oxygen in producing gums and otherwise breaking down fuels during production, transportation, and storage; thermal stability (typically called metal deactivators) to slow or limit the breakdown of fuels during high temperature storage and when recirculated during the operation of a diesel engine; corrosion inhibitors to limit or prevent the corrosive action of the fuel on soft metals, plastics, and rubber; biocides to kill and or prevent the growth of biological agents in fuels; cetane improvers to improve the compression ignition characteristics of the fuel when used in diesel engines; anti-icing agents to prevent the formation of ice crystals in fuels; cold flow improvers (anti-gels) to lower the temperatures at which one or more of the following takes place: cloud point (CP), cold filter plug point (CFPP), or pour point (PP); lubricity improvers to increase the lubricating ability of fuels used in diesel engines; fuel conductivity improvers or anti-static agents to prevent the buildup of static electrical charges in fuels (an explosion hazard) during transportation and loading and unloading; wax anti-settling agents to prevent waxes from falling out of solution during extended cold weather; water dispersion to remove water, limiting formation or gums, varnishes, carbon deposits, corrosion, and icing, atomization improver to improve fuel atomization by injectors and burner nozzles.

A Brief History of Diesel Fuels with EPA Mandated Changes

Petroleum derived diesel fuel was originally created through Atmospheric or Straight Run Distillation where crude oil is heated until vaporization takes place and then condensed into various components.

The EPA began regulating diesel fuels in 1993. Prior to this time diesel fuel, kerosene used in On-Highway, Off-Highway, Locomotive and Marine fuels plus Home Heating and Industrial Fuel Oil’s were unregulated by the EPA. Diesel fuels had sulfur contents of up to and sometimes exceeding 5000 ppm.

The initial regulations taking effect in 1993 were designed to reduce sulfur content in on-highway fuels to 500 ppm or less. At this time the original fuel with a sulfur content greater than 500 ppm was termed High Sulfur Diesel (HSD) and fuel with 500 ppm or less was termed Low Sulfur Diesel (LSD) fuel. In June of 2006 On-Highway Diesel fuel changed to Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) with 15 ppm or less sulfur content.

In Europe they followed a similar path to reach what they now call no sulfur (10 ppm or less) fuel.

While HSD was banned from use in On-Highway vehicles in 1993, Non-Road (NR)(Off-Highway) and Locomotive and Marine (LM) or combined (NRLM) users were allowed to continue to use this fuel until June of 2007 when NR changed to LSD and then in June of 2010 when it changed to ULSD.

LM users were changed from HSD to LSD in June of 2007 and will change to ULSD in June of 2012.

Engines designed to run on HSD or LSD tend to suffer from lubricity problems when converted to ULSD. These problems include Buna and Nitrile O-Ring and Seals commonly used in those engines will dry out, shrink, and crack when sulfur content of the fuel is reduced. Also, the lower lubricity (lubricating ability) of ULSD causes rapid wear of pumps and injectors due to the lower quality metallurgical and hardness characteristics of these components in those engines.

The NR users are now seeing problems with existing equipment from the change to ULSD. It is expected that LM users will have significant problems with the change next year.

These problems tend to be more pronounced in construction, agricultural, prime power, standby power, locomotive, and marine equipment and engines that typically have a much longer service life and can be far more expensive to replace than is typically seen in On-Highway Trucks.

Europe:

In Europe similar regulations exist (they were several years ahead of North America in promulgating and implementing these rules) and although they have in the past produced fuels superior to those found in North America, they are having significant difficulties due to changes both regulatory and market driven.

In the market driven category the North Sea Oil Fields have now peaked in production and are being a long slow decline. One of the results is that crude is now being imported into several countries from other regions of the world. This imported crude is often of lower quality and is more difficult to refine in existing refineries.

Another issue is that North Sea field’s decline they tend to produce more of the lower quality crudes. The problem with both these North Sea and imported crudes is that most of the refineries in Europe were designed and built after World War II to operate on high quality (light sweet) crudes. These refineries are not as flexible as those in North America and they have trouble processing lower quality crude oils.

Also, in countries such as Germany that have little crude oil, they have developed coal gasification to produce synthetic diesel fuels from domestic coal supplies. While this fuel has some good characteristics, it is very problematic in the area of engine and fuel system deposits.

In the regulatory category there are several mandates in place requiring that given percentages of biodiesel be blended into all of the diesel fuel sold. In the UK it started at 5% and is now going to 7%. There are a number of issues with these fuels such as base stocks and production methods. In the North America most biofuel is produced from soybean oil, with small amount from used cooking oils. In the EU, Rapeseed oil was long considered the standard; however we are seeing more and more Palm Oil which is readily available from many sources at lower cost. However the fuel derived from this oil is very highly saturated and as a result hard to work with. It has very poor cold weather characteristics and combusts less well than other lighter oils.

As a result, the European OEM’s and consumers, who 5 years ago didn’t believe in additives for their fuels, are now becoming educated to the fact that they do need them.

OEM’s have designed and built fuel systems and engines for fuels of a very high quality. Also, as more and more cars are built using diesel engines the balance between diesel and gasoline is rapidly shifting to a diesel bias. Most of their refineries were built primarily to make gasoline and they are having difficulty switching to making more diesel.

As a result Europe is now and will continue to see more of the problems we have seen in North America for many years.

A typical refining process in 2011:

It is important to understand that refiners today are trying to obtain the highest yields of the most profitable products created during the refining process and do so while using the least expensive crudes that their refineries can process. The product streams (different products or product components) produced by a refinery can be adjusted or managed through the changes in the refining process and through the use of chemicals and catalysts to produce more or less of a given item. For example many refineries in the US are primarily interested in producing gasoline as it is usually the most profitable and highest volume product. In order to do this they may produce a diesel fuel with less desirable characteristics.

A refinery designed to produce high quality lubricants from crude with levels of paraffin wax may produce diesel with an unusually high wax content which in the summer is great (more wax equals more Btu’s), however in cold weather this fuel can be very difficult to use as it gells at a much higher temperature than normal fuel would.

In the US market most diesel and gasoline is called fungible which means it equivalent. Diesel and gasoline are produced to “Pipeline” spec so that fuel entering a pipeline as for example diesel #2 in any of the half dozen refineries in East Texas can be sold as Diesel #2 under any brand all the way up the East Coast of the US. The only thing that differentiates one brand from another is the additive package added during the loading of the truck that delivers it.

What this means is that refiners are trying to make the least expensive product possible that will still meet those very minimal fungible (pipeline) specs.

Now the other side of the coin, the diesel engine.

Diesel engines have evolved at an incredible pace over the last decade or so. We have seen them go from a large, heavy, noisy, smelly, black smoke belching engine used in trucks, construction equipment, railroads, large ships, and other heavy duty uses to an ultra-clean, efficient, quiet powerplant suitable for everything from the smallest automobile to the largest truck and even larger.

Regulatory and market driven forces have brought about these changes and although primarily positive in nature, there have certainly been some negative consequences such as far great cost of purchasing, operating, and maintaining these engines; the need for nearly complete computer control of the fuel and emissions systems, the addition of many expensive and somewhat delicate sensors to support the computers, the difficulty in training personnel to maintain and repair these complicated engines and their support systems.

Whereas twenty years ago a diesel engine was almost bullet-proof in that with relatively minor maintenance they could run on almost any fuel available. They could be expected to idle indefinitely then go to full power and stay there with no negative consequences. Engines with oil changes intervals as high as 50,000 miles (under proper monitored conditions). The fuel systems with fuel filters not much more sophisticated than a gym sock could handle very poor quality fuels with minimal problems. Exhaust systems consisted of some 3-5” pipe and a $100.00 muffler, no EGR valves, no DPF’s, CPT’s, or SCR’s.

This was a time where you could buy a brand new 350 horse engine in the crate for $12,000.00. How different things are today, when six fuel injectors can exceed that $12,000.00 amount. Today we have to deal with fuel system pump and injector tolerances of less than 2 microns (a human hair is 80 to 100 microns thick), we have systems to divert, cool, and re-inject exhaust gases into the intake air for emissions, the $100.00 muffler has been replaced by DPF’s, CPT’s, and SCR’s worth many thousands of dollars, and all of which require expensive and time consuming maintenance, we have computer controls that do amazing things, but which also cost thousands of dollars to buy and maintain.

One of the most interesting things to consider is that we are trying to operate these engines on fuels that are far poorer in quality than the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) suggest or require.

For example; the Cetane rating of most fuel sold in the US is 40, the American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM) minimum. However virtually every OEM owners/operators manual suggests or requires a Cetane rating of 45 or above; the ASTM minimum for diesel fuel lubricity is HFRR (High Frequency Reciprocating Rig) 520, whereas the Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) and nearly every OEM owners/operators manual suggests 460 or better (lower number show greater lubricity); ASTM allowable water content is approximately four times greater than OEM specs. We know we have injection system components with less than 2 micron tolerances yet we still use fuel filters that only protect to 10 microns because the quality of the fuel is so poor they will plug rapidly when smaller media is used.

We know that these fuels are causing many problems in the field not seen in the lab. Some examples are particulate formation caused by poor or incomplete combustion of the fuel. These particulates form deposits on and around the fuel injectors, exhaust valves, piston rings, piston ring lands, piston crowns, EGR valves, EGR coolers, turbochargers, DPF’s, and CPT’s.

These deposits cause a wide range of problems including; poor performance, poor fuel economy, poor operability, higher emissions, EGR Valve plugging and performance issues, EGR Cooler plugging, active and manual CPT regeneration required far more often than desired, the need for removal and manual cleaning of CPT’s far more often than should be necessary, damage to turbochargers, coating or damage to engine and emissions sensors.

Stability, both Oxidative and Thermal is related to contents of the crude oil and the various refining processes used today. This less stabile fuel deteriorates or breaks down rapidly causing the formations of gums, varnishes, and carbon deposits which in turn can cause or exacerbate problems of incomplete combustion.

Cetane Rating is a measure of how quickly a fuel will auto-ignite under compression. In diesel engines sooner is generally better. The 40 rated we fuel we use makes cold starting much harder, creates clouds of white smoke until the engine warms, makes the engine very loud, and limits the performance characteristics of any engine it is used in.

Raising Cetane makes an engine easier to start (particularly in cold weather), allows it to warm up faster, makes it quieter, allows the engine timing to be advanced which makes the engine more efficient for better mileage, performance and lower emissions.

Detergent, contrary to popular belief there is no requirement for detergent in diesel fuels in North America. There is very poor detergency in North American fuels. This leads to many of the combustion quality issues we see.

There is no actual liquid water spec for fuel. It is generally agreed that there shouldn’t be any liquid water, but no real requirement. Permissible Dissolved Water level is unacceptably high resulting in gum formation, corrosion, and biological growth problems.

With the 2008 change to D975 the ASTM specification for diesel fuel that now allows up to 5% biodiesel to be added to #2 fuel without notification provided to the purchaser, there are new layers of complication being added to existing problems.

Biodiesel is very hygroscopic and is capable of holding as much as 1% dissolved water, approximately 10 times that of Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD). This ability to hold water can and does lead to more aggressive gum formation, more corrosion problems, and greater problems with biological growth in fuels. Biodiesel also has less Btu’s per gallon and as it is based on a plant oil or animal fat, will turn rancid when stored for long periods. It produces higher levels of NOx when burned.

When biodiesel is blended with regular diesel it acts to destabilize the fuel and worsens its cold weather characteristics. The use of blended biodiesel becomes more problematic based on several factors including the base stock from which the biodiesel is made, the type and quality of the processes being used to produce the biofuel, the level of dissolved water, the Free Fatty Acids (FFA’s), the percentage of the biofuel blended with the petroleum diesel, the quality of the petroleum diesel being used, and the conditions and temperatures involved when the blending takes place.

Where all this leads is to the need for Supplemental or Remedial Additization in all diesel and heating fuels.

Under the current regulations and market conditions the quality of the fuels being produced and offered for commercial applications and to the general public does not meet the requirements or needs of the engines and emissions control systems being sold and used.

It is possible to Supplement or Remediate through Additization nearly all fuels to meet or exceed those requirements and needs.

It is cost effective for an end user whether commercial, industrial, railroad, marine, or the general public to Additize their fuels to Supplement or Remediate them to necessary levels.

Gas to Liquids – Another Piece of the Puzzle

Gas to Liquids - Another Piece of the Puzzle

We have all seen pictures of oil wells both on land and platforms on the water where there is a constant flame burning off gases that contaminate the oil.

When you drill for oil you almost always get gas. If it is not considered cost effective to build a gas pipeline to transport the gas it is known as “Stranded Gas” and is flared off, wasting trillions of Btu’s of energy and releasing millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere with absolutely no benefit.

Also in refining operations, there are gases released that are also flared off.

In many landfills you will see a tower used to flare off Methane generated by the continuous breakdown of organic materials.

One potential improvement to the world’s fuel pool could be the updating of the process used by Germany during World War II to alleviate its constant oil shortages. It was originally designed to convert coal to liquid fuels, however variations are capable of converting gases such as Natural Gas, Methane, Refinery Gases, and others to liquid fuels such as diesel and gasoline.

The use of Gas to Liquid Fuel Technology can help stretch our fossil fuel supplies and reduce CO2 released into the atmosphere.

More information available at: www.lcbamarketing.com

Post your comments, thoughts, ideas, and suggestions here.

Doctor Diesel

Copyright 2009 – William Richards

Nitrogen Enriched Gasolines – What Are They and What Do They Do

Nitrogen Enriched Gasolines – What Are They and What Do They Do

Shell Oil has recently begun advertising their Shell V-Power “Nitrogen Enriched” Gasoline.

Why would nitrogen improve the cleaning performance of gasoline detergent?

Here are some facts to consider:

1. The earth’s atmosphere is approximately 78% nitrogen
2. Nitrogen is an inert gas that is not combustible
3. Nitrogen atoms are larger than oxygen atoms
4. Nitrogen when combusted with fuel and Oxygen creates Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
5. NOx when combined with Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) creates petrochemical smog.

Shell claims that fusing (their term) nitrogen with their detergent creates a more stable, longer lasting detergent that will be more effective in preventing gunk (their term) deposits (my term) from building up on the valves and other combustion chamber areas.

It would seem to me that adding Nitrogen will make the combustion process less efficient and could possibly lower combustion temperatures. This would seem to be the opposite of the desired effect.

It would also seem that adding Nitrogen could raise the NOx emissions from the engine which would tend to increase smog production, again the opposite of the desired effect.

I definitely applaud the idea of raising detergent levels in all gasolines. This is a quick and inexpensive way to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy.

The whole Nitrogen thing is nothing other than another marketing ploy. Shell and many other refiners have attempted to convince the consumer that they are doing something unique and wonderful, when in reality they simply want to sell more and or charge more than their competitors.

Shell needs fewer “Cutesy” TV commercials and more science, or at least they should provide some documentation to support thier claims.

If you want to do the best thing for your gasoline powered vehicle, look for fuels containing “Top Tier” fuel additives used at the manufactures “Top Tier” levels or simply purchase and regularly use aftermarket “tank additives” that meet or exceed the “Top Tier’ requirements.

This together with proper maintenance will ensure peak performance and minimum emissions from your engine.

Please let me know what you think, post your comments, ideas, and suggestions here.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009 – William Richards

Urea – More Things to Consider

Urea - More Things to Consider

I recently heard a new concern for those of you who will be storing and dispensing Urea for the 2010 diesel trucks. Urea is a very corrosive product that can quickly damage metal tanks, some types of seals, even dispensing nozzles.

Most fuel dispensing nozzles are made from nickel plated aluminum. When Urea is dispensed through such a nozzle, the nickel plating will react changing the Diesel Emission Fluid (DEF) to where it can cause damage to the SCR (Catalytic Converter) system.

The longer the Urea is in contact with the nozzle the more potentially damaging the fluid will become. What this means is that in high volume situations, the fluid will have limited contact with the nozzle and the likelihood of fluid being contaminated is significantly reduced. In lower volume situations where there may be extended periods of time between use, there is a higher likelihood of contaminating the fluid.

It may be desirable to go to a nozzle made of unplated metal or possibly even a composite material to prevent this contamination.

It is considered vital that a non-fuel nozzle be used to prevent the possibility of accidentally adding diesel to the DEF or DEF to the Diesel Fuel. Either mistake will likely cause rapid and catastrophic failure of the engine and or the SCR System.

In Europe a company called ElaFlex provides the defacto standard for AdBlue (Urea) nozzles that have a unique feature that prevents the AdBlue (Urea) from being added to the fuel tank.

ElaFlex has recently signed an agreement with OPW to provide these nozzles to the US and Canadian markets.

We will be providing a comprehensive list of suggestions on how to safely and cost effectively dispense Urea for your fleet operation.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009 – William Richards

Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Alternative Fuels

Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Alternative Fuels

I recently had the privilege of speaking to members of the New York State Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) during their annual conference in Canandaigua NY.

The discussion was on Alternative Fuels and I spoke on the future of Alternative Fuels regarding how it will affect Public Works Fleets and Operations.

The attendees were very knowledgeable and very interested in the how the alternative fuels are likely to impact their operations.

The images shown are of General Motors Equinox Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle

This fuel cell vehicle operates on compressed hydrogen gas that when fueled with hydrogen derived from electrolysis powered by non-fossil fuels is a true zero emissions vehicle. It is truly amazing to drive this vehicle and even when following it you can actually see that the emissions are water vapor.

While we are a long way from having cost competitive hydrogen available at the local gas station, this is a practical, vehicle that can be driven without any special training and the only unusual consideration is in making sure you know where the next fuel station is located.

Monroe County (Rochester) NY is at the forefront of making alternative fuels into mainstream products. They have recently completed a new state of the art fueling center that provides gasoline, gasohol (E20 and E85), diesel (biodiesel blends from B5 through B20), CNG, and Hydrogen all in a modern, efficient, and safe Green Fueling Station.

Monroe County and its forward thinking team lead by County Executive Maggie Brooks who have not only acknowledged the future, but have embraced it. They have recognized that there is a lot Federal, State, and private money available to municipal governments that are willing to lead the way into a greener future.

They are benefiting from grants for infrastructure, equipment, and even free or low cost vehicles. They are able to take advantage of research initiatives by elite universities and world class manufacturers who are providing testing resources that would be virtually unobtainable outside of governmental involvement.
This proactive approach has benefited not only Monroe County, but will provide long term benefits to the private sector in the region surrounding their operations.

We strongly believe that this type of public leadership will directly translate into benefits for the taxpayers and residents both now and in the future.

I want to thank Dave Butters, John Graham (retired), and Bob Hamilton of Monroe County for providing me with the opportunity of speaking to this auspicious group.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009 - William Richards

OPEC and the Price of Oil – March 15, 2009

OPEC and the Price of Oil – March 15, 2009

OPEC, at its meeting Sunday (March 15, 2009) in Vienna decided not to ask members to cut output any further. This decision will hold off any official changes until the next meeting in May.

As is normal for this group of market manipulators, they cannot agree on what to do or how to do it, so they create a press release that tries to convince the not too bright, that they are maintaining production levels to “help” with the worlds current economic problems.

Nothing could be further from reality or the truth. They did not cut production for a host of reasons, first and foremost is that many of their members are ignoring the previous reduction of 2.2 million barrels per day that supposedly took effect in December. Even by their numbers (which are far too generous) they are only getting 80% compliance from their members on those production limits.

Why you may ask are they unable to control production and force up prices? Well the biggest issue is that many of these OPEC Countries (Note: OPEC Countries theoretically control about 40% of the world’s oil) spend their petro-dollars as fast or even faster than they take them in. Venezuela needs oil to be about US$80.00 per barrel just to pay the bills.

Many of the Middle Eastern countries have gone on staggering spending sprees basically acting as socialist entities.

These countries temporarily import workers to do their dirty work, while their own citizens do less and less but keep getting ever growing government handouts to live on (this sounds vaguely like some western country I may have heard of).

They have spent hundreds of billions on infrastructure projects and other enticements to try and bring foreign businesses to their countries before the oil runs out (yes, it will run out).

However all of this has been based on cheap capital and the idea that oil would keep going up in price forever.

Well fast forward to today, There is more crude oil sitting in storage than at any time in history, the demand is off by more than 1 million barrels per day (Note: this is another manipulated number and the reality is that demand is off by two or even three times this number), the economy in the US and now the rest of the industrialized world is contracting and will likely do so for a year or more, before starting a slow, painful, and just plain ugly recovery, and it appears that there is at least a glimmer of hope that the world including the US will finally wake up and recognize that the way we have been using energy for the last 100 years is unsustainable and that we need to do things now, not is 20 years to fix the problems.

All of this leads me to some oversimplified conclusions on oil pricing over the next year or two. If there is reduced economic activity worldwide there will be less demand for oil. The oil inventories will likely continue to grow as OPEC and Russia will need to pump more and more to make up for the lower per barrel prices.

Right now there is a concerted effort to hold and try to push crude prices up. However to keep oil in storage costs a lot of money every day. At some point traders and speculators will decide that they cannot afford to pay $100,000.00 a day to park crude in a tanker because the price is not going up enough make it profitable. When this happens, we could see oil flood the markets at levels not seen since the 1970’s. This will then further exacerbate the problems of the oil producing countries who will try to pump even more.

Short of a war (not out of the question) or a cataclysmic natural disaster, it is hard to see crude oil going up significantly anytime soon.

Refiners and some marketers are likely to benefit as crude prices decline and more finished product becomes available. In some areas where there is tightly controlled distribution there may months or even years of high profitability due to reduction in cost followed more slowly by reduction in retail prices.

I have regrettably spent my life creating a carbon footprint of embarrassing proportions. I am now working on reducing not only my negative impact on the world, but on creating new and better ways for everyone to do the same without destroying their livelihoods or lifestyles.

Please join us in our efforts.

To read this and other articles on fuels, alternative fuels, oils, lubricants, and coolants, please go to: http://www.lcbamarketing.com/ and click on technical articles.

Please post your comments, thoughts, ideas, and suggestions here.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009© - William Richards

Clean Coal – An Oxymoron or a Real Possibility?

Clean Coal – An Oxymoron or a Real Possibility?

Can coal be clean? We have all heard the condescending advertising, listened to the biased politicians, and been overwhelmed with huge amounts of conflicting “expert” opinion and research data from each side.

Let’s start with the basics, “What is coal?” Coal is a sedimentary rock made up mostly of carbon, with varying amounts of sulfur, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and lesser amounts of many contaminants including mercury and other poisonous compounds.

We believe coal is primarily made up of plant material that has partially degraded, compressed and through this pressure and with time and other geologic forces been transformed into the many forms of what we refer to as coal. Some of these forms are Peat, Lignite, Bituminous, Anthracite, and Graphite.

The process of photosynthesis converts carbon dioxide into carbon, the conversion of the dead plant matter into coal sequesters the carbon in the ground. If we look at this in a very big picture sense, coal is the energy of the sun converted and stored. When the coal is burned, that carbon is released in the form of carbon dioxide. This could be a manageable cycle, however what is happening today, is that millions of years worth of this stored sunlight bound up in the form of carbon is being released in a relatively short period of time. This rapid release has overloaded the systems (the worldwide environments) ability to convert the carbon dioxide back into some stored form.

What can we do about this problem? First we must burn (or otherwise convert) this coal as cleanly and efficiently as possible. Large scale coal gasification and burning to create electricity will create fewer more easily managed source of pollution. These very large sources can be more easily forced to the use technology needed to clean the exhaust stream coming from such a facility.

Next we need to develop ways to reuse or store the Carbon Dioxide (CO2). There are ideas that would pump this material back into the earth either as part of oil pumping operations or into decommissioned mines.

I believe that we need to consider alternatives that would use some significant part of this CO2 to grow Algae as part of a closed loop energy system (See previous article on the Richards Cycle) or some other photosynthetic process that would convert the CO2 back into a safe storable (or reusable) form.

Coal can also be converted into high quality liquid fuel s (gasoline and diesel) through several processes. If we can create a more earth-friendly method of doing this, we could significantly reduce our dependence on and need for imported oil.

While this is not a permanent solution, it would definitely give us a cushion while we develop alternative energy forms and strategies.

Whether or not Coal can ever be Clean, I don’t know. What I am certain of is that we can develop much cleaner, safer, and eco-friendly methods to mine and use this high quality domestic energy source.

Please post your comments, thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.

For more information, please visit: http://www.lcbamarketing.com and click on Technical Articles.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009© - William Richards

Biodiesel Cold Soak Filterability - ASTM D6751 Annex A1

New ASTM Biodiesel Test Specification for Cold Weather Operability

The American Society for Testing of Materials has recently added a new test requirement to the D6751 Biodiesel Specification.

This new requirement is referred to as ASTM 6217 or as Annex A1 of ASTM D6751– Cold Soak Filterability.

Cold Soak Filtration Analysis is defined as: The time in seconds that it takes for cold soaked biodiesel to pass through two 0.8 micron filters and the amount of particulate matter expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/l) collected on the filter.

What does this mean? When biodiesel is stored in temperatures below 40°F for extended periods of time, certain components will precipitate (fall) out of solution and fall to the bottom of the storage tank. This precipitate will build in a thickening layer at or near the tank bottom. In general the colder the temperature and the longer the biodiesel stays at a given temperature, the more material will fall out.

This material can very quickly plug filters and shut down engines, usually at the worst time.

What is this material? It can have to do with the feedstock from which the biodiesel is created. Certain feedstocks, particularly Used Cooking Oils (UCO), Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO), and Animal Fats (Tallow) will produce high levels of precipitate. The material can also be due to incomplete removal of glycerin during the transestrification process.

This new test is a positive step in making biodiesel a more consistent user friendly product.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009© - William Richards

US EIA – Information on Gas and Diesel Pricing from the US EIA

US EIA – Energy Information Administration

The US Energy Information Administration provides daily information on regional, national, and worldwide inventories, pricing, and availability. You can view this information at: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/gdu/gasdiesel.asp

You can also view a copy of this webpage and other related information at: http://http://www.lcbamarketing.com/

We will be exploring what goes into the price of fuel at the pump over the next several weeks.

Check back every day.

Please post your comments, suggestions, and ideas here.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009© - William Richards

Synthetic Oils - Are they Worth the Cost?

Synthetic Oils - Are they Worth the Cost?

Image courtesy of outboardmotoroilblog.com

Today we hear a lot of terms thrown around when discussing motor oils. Much of the time, they are being used incorrectly.

So let’s start with mineral oil, this is the oil most of us have used in one form or another since the internal combustion engine was created. Mineral oils are distilled from crude oil as part of the refining process.

There are three categories of mineral oils; Paraffinic, Naphthenic, and Aromatic. Mineral oil can be as simple as baby oil, or as complex as today’s heavy duty motor oils. The chemistry used to create multi-grade oils and pickup and hold contaminants in solution is extremely complex.

Synthetic – Synthetic Oils can be created from many different sources and can offer many helpful characteristics such as lower friction, better high temperature performance, better stability, better sheer stability, better cold start lubrication, reduced oxidation, improved protection against thermal breakdown, less tendency to form sludge, reduces evaporative loss, potentially extends drain intervals.

There are two main categories for synthetic oils the first is:

Polyalphaolefin (PAO) an American Petroleum Institute (API) Group IV Oil Base Oil

The second is:

Synthetic esters an API Group V Base Oils ((non-PAO) synthetics, including alkylated naphthalene’s, alkylated benzenes, diesters, polyolesters, polyglycols etc.)

There is also a category called Semi-Synthetics – a mixture of petroleum and up to 30% synthetic base oils. The name Semi-Synthetic is a misnomer, oils are either Synthetic or not. If they are a mixture then if you subscribe to the theory that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link applies and the mixture will only be as good as worst performing part of the mineral oil.

The primary reasons to change motor oil are because the oil gets dirty and or because the additive package in the oil gets used up. Dirty can mean physical dirt from the environment, soot from combustion, left over combustion products and a nearly endless list of contaminants.

The additive package provides friction reduction, neutralizes acids, holds contaminants in solution, prevents oxidation, prevents corrosion, and many other vital functions. The additives are consumed or used up over time and they need to be replenished or failure will result. The method most often used is to replace the oil. This method has the advantage of taking many or hopefully most of the contaminants out of the engine with it.

Synthetic Oils may or may not have super additive packages, but eventually the oil becomes dirty to the point that it needs to be filtered or replaced and the additive package replenished or again replaced. The problem is that synthetic oil becomes contaminated long before it is “worn out” and has to be replaced to prevent damage from the contaminants. This means that often you are unable to take full advantage of the superior chemistry and characteristics of synthetic oils.

When this happens the cost disadvantage of the synthetics outweigh its other advantages.

In situations of extreme cold, high heat, high loads, extended operation at high rpm, and other related situations synthetic oils offer many superior characteristics that may improve operability, increase engine life, provide better fuel economy, and potentially improve emissions.

However for the average grocery getter or most vehicles in normal operation the added cost of synthetic motor oil is probably not justified.

View all of the Fuel School articles at: www.lcbamarketing.com and click on Technical Articles

Please post your comments, thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009© - William Richards

Today's Economy - Lemons versus Lemonade

Today’s Economy - Lemons versus Lemonade

Today I want to take just a minute to address the current problems in our economy. While this is outside the normal scope of this blog, I feel that there is much to be considered and discussed.

In the real world where the 99.999% of us who are not politicians live, it doesn’t really matter what party or group you belong to, what matters is who you are and what you do.

Imagine you are in a small boat in the middle of a big ocean, in this boat is one person from every country in the world, for arguments sake let’s say there are 195 of us and let’s also assume that there are nearly equal numbers of men and women.

Now let’s say that we are in the middle of a storm, not just any storm, but a once in a lifetime or a “Hundred Years” storm. Our boat that before the storm was comfortable and appeared to be safe is now damaged and leaking from every seam with more water is coming in over the gunnel's. To make matters worse, our resident meteorologists say that this storm may last weeks, months, or maybe even years.

We have 195 opinions on what to do, some want to just wait for someone else to rescue them (note: not necessarily everyone, just them), others want to use this as an opportunity to take control of the boat and everyone in it, some want to do nothing, arguing that since we were stupid enough to get in this position, we are not worth saving and should just sink and drown.

However a few just quietly start bailing, they work night and day, sleeping little and working as hard as they can. Eventually when the boat stops sinking it is these same people who start fixing the leaks, taking care of the supplies, making sure that everyone gets their fair share. Some in the boat disparage these efforts; some even try to make things more difficult.

As time goes on some slip over the side and drift away, some refusing to help with business of living migrate to one section in the boat, where they grumble among themselves.

However most people begin to realize that by working together, they can make their own if not everyone’s life a little easier.

Over time the leaks get fixed, so we don’t have to spend all of our time bailing. We begin to pull things drifting by out of the ocean and make them into useful things. The boat is eventually repaired, improved, and even enlarged.

People realize that in spite of differences, working together in a common cause allows us to see other points of view and even to reach accommodations and compromises.

There are still a few in the “I disagree with everything” section, but the group seems to get smaller and smaller as time goes by.

As time goes on, the disaster fades into memory and life actually becomes better than it was before the storm.

Right now, individuals have little control over how big the storm gets or how long it will last. Individuals can however bail, they can help their friends and neighbors, they can band together to fix leaks, but more importantly, they can work together with like-minded people to find solutions and implement them to address the bigger problems.

Recessions can last a few months, a few years, or they can spiral downwards into depression. A ship’s captain (President) can head the ship into the wind and try to prevent the boat from being swamped, he can direct the crew to batten down the hatches, and start the pumps, but he (or she) is but one person and in the end the efforts and determination of the crew and passengers will decide how the voyage will end.

In today’s real world economy, things are pretty scary, with even well run businesses in trouble. So what does a good manager do to protect and grow his company’s business?

Well, in the midst of all these lemons, let’s try making some lemonade. There are more highly talented and highly motivated people available than ever before (remember a year ago everyone was panicking over a lack of qualified job seekers), there are more opportunities than ever before (think in terms of all the businesses cutting back or closing, where will their customers go?), there are more possibilities for consolidation and growth (again things that were considered unnecessary or even unthinkable when things were booming, suddenly make a lot of sense) and there are many more examples to be considered.

With careful thought and planning you can make your business grow and become even more profitable even in the toughest of times.

Consider that many of the strongest companies in the world today are ones that survived or grew out of the depression.

We will get through this difficult time, some will merely survive, some will grow stronger and prosper, which group will you be in?

Post your comments, thoughts, ideas, and suggestions here.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009© - William Richards

Natural Gas as a Transportation Fuel – A Cautionary Note

Natural Gas as a Transportation Fuel – A Cautionary Note

Natural Gas is currently being promoted as a domestic clean, safe, and cheaper alternative to petroleum fuels.


Some thoughts for your consideration.


Natural Gas as domestic source of energy. The US currently imports approximately 16% of its natural gas. Some comes to us by pipeline and some in the form of LNG via ship. Increasing the use of natural gas to replace petroleum fuels simply shifts our imports from one product to another.


Currently the US uses approximately 22% of our natural gas to create electricity. This is a poor use of a valuable resource for a need that has many other fuel sources available. If this was replaced by wind, solar, nuclear, and a future renewable bio-source (see previous article: The Richards Cycle) you could eliminate our imports.


Natural Gas as a clean motor fuel. Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) both reduce certain emissions however they are not as clean as some would have us believe. If you look the whole basket of emissions that come out of the exhaust on an internal combustion engine, a 2010 Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Diesel engine actually is less polluting than an equivalent CNG or LNG engine.


While I believe you can safely use CNG and LNG, it requires more training and much greater diligence on the part of drivers and operators vehicles and fueling stations. It is important to remember that it can take far longer to fuel LNG and particularly CNG fueled equipment. This long fueling cycle can lead to lack of attention and added expense in fueling equipment.


Natural Gas as cheaper alternative. Many people incorrectly try to compare a gallon of diesel to a gallon of LNG or a gallon of CNG. While the price per gallon of the LNG and CNG may appear to be cheaper, you need to consider the energy in the gallon. For example a gallon of diesel contains approximately 139,000 Btu’s of energy, while a gallon of LNG contains about 73,500 Btu’s, and CNG works to about 34,750. In short it takes about 4 times the space to store an equivalent amount of CNG as compared to diesel.


The other concerns with vehicles powered by CNG or LNG are that they are far more expensive to purchase, for example a school bus built to run on CNG can be $30,000.00 to $40,000.00 more than its diesel counterpart.



Also when you purchase a vehicle powered by CNG or LNG you locked into one supplier for all fuel system and some engine components for ever. There is virtually no secondary supplier compatibility. You limit the range and usefulness of the vehicle due to limited ability to refuel that vehicle away from its domicile. Lastly, you have to be concerned about the value of those vehicles when it comes time to trade or sell them. In many cases this limited resale market can make a used vehicle worthless.


There is an important and growing place for alternative fuel vehicles and equipment. It takes visionary leaders with long term commitment and very deep pockets to make a change to this type of equipment successful.

You can get more information on this and other fuel related subjects at: http://www.lcbamarketing.com and click on Fuel School Articles.

Please comment here and share your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.


Diesel Doctor



Copyright 2009© - William Richards

Cetane Number – What it is and Why it’s so Important

Cetane Number – What it is and Why it’s so Important

Cooperative Fuel Research Engine (CFR)

Cetane is a measurement of a diesel fuel ignition and or combustion quality. This Cetane Number or CN is one of several components that determine the quality of diesel and biodiesel fuels. This number is used for light and middle distillate fuels. For heavy (residual) fuels Calculated Ignition Index (CII) and Calculated Carbon Aromaticity Index (CCAI) are used.

In some ways this measurement is similar to the Octane Ratings given to gasoline. In its simplest terms Cetane Number measures the delay between the start of fuel injection into the combustion chamber and the beginning of compression ignition (Auto-ignition).

In medium and high speed diesel engines (this all automotive and truck engines) fuel needs to have a CN between 38 and 55 to operate. In general the higher the CN number, the better for the engine and for emissions. However raising CN above 55 currently offers little if any benefit.

In the US the group setting the standards for CN is the American Society for Testing of Materials (ASTM) and currently the minimum is 40. While diesel engines will start and run with 40 CN fuel, they do not run as efficiently as they will at a higher number.

In Europe the European Union (EU) has systematically over several years raised the minimum from 38 to the current 51. This has allowed engine manufacturers to produce more efficient engines with lower emissions and better economy. Most fuel in the EU has a CN of 55 or even better.

Cetane Number is measured using a very expensive and arcane Cooperative Fuel Research (CFR) engine and a process that very complex.

You can also measure CN using an Ignition Quality Tester (IQT) which is somewhat less complex, but still quite costly.

There is a third measurement called Cetane Index (CI) that measures density and distillation range of the fuel and through a calculation provides a measurement. This method will calculate a reasonably accurate number for the refined diesel.

The problem is that today most diesel fuel uses additives to reach the desired Cetane Number and additives do not affect the density, thus the CI of a fuel containing additives is not accurate.

Some of you may have seen a device that looks like a battery fluid tester (a hydrometer). These devices are not capable of determining CN or CI with any accuracy.

You can raise CN by altering the refining process or through the use of Alkyl nitrates or di-tert-butyl peroxide additives. NOTE: Remember that additives do not raise CI.

Also, biodiesel, depending on the base oil from which it is derived has a natural Cetane Rating of 46 to as high as 60.

With the advent of Pilot or Multiple Pulse fuel injection, Cetane Number becomes more important than ever. The delay in auto-ignition (CN) affects the combustion timing, which has a significant effect on power output, fuel economy, and emissions.

Raising Cetane Number together with Improving Fuel Atomization is the fastest way to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions through the use of correctly formulated additives.

Please post your comments, ideas, and suggestions

More information at: http://www.lcbamarketing.com/ - Click on Fuel School Articles.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009© - William Richards

Biodiesel and Cold Weather meet in Minnesota

Biodiesel and Cold Weather meet in Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture recently released (February 15, 2009) a report to the legislature regarding the states mandated biodiesel program and the cold weather issues it has caused.

Starting in September 2005 Minnesota required that virtually all diesel fuel sold in the state contain at least 2% biodiesel. This level is supposed to be raised to 5% in 2009, 10% in 2012, and finally 20% in 2015.

This report by the Governors “Biodiesel Task Force” created in 2003 shows that there a number of significant problems with using biodiesel blends, particularly in areas subject to long periods of cold weather.

Some of the issues noted in the report:

· Discussion indicated at least fifteen cases of unusual filter plugging in commercial trucks this winter for which the cause had not been determined. Discussion of possible causes included engine manufacturers’ reduction of truck filter sizes (from 10 to15 microns down to 2 to 5 microns), paraffin from diesel, glycerin from biodiesel, water contamination, biotic contamination as a result of ultra-low sulfur diesel levels plus water contamination, and vehicle designs in which the fuel filter is located away from the engine.

· Discussion that existing cold flow test procedures are not sufficiently predictive of the
cold temperature performance of diesel fuel with or without biodiesel. ASTM International and other organizations at a national level must develop new test methods that are more predictive of the cold weather performance of diesel fuel and biodiesel blends.

· Variations in seasonal availability of fuel were also discussed, specifically routine shortages of diesel fuel at terminals in the fall leading to the practice of bulk plants and fleets buying and storing fuel in the late summer for use in the fall and early winter months when shortages of diesel are anticipated. Such stockpiling of B10 or higher could result in problems in above ground tanks.

· The suggestion was made that the Task Force discussions should freely address the availability and quality of all winter fuel in the state instead of being confined only to biodiesel. Given recent changes in the diesel industry, including biodiesel, low-sulfur diesel fuel and smaller fuel filter pore diameters, a wide range of issues regarding equipment and diesel fuel with and without biodiesel must be addressed.

Laboratory testing has indicated that blending with number one (#1) diesel at 50/50 rate produces results similar to treating with additives but the #1 fuel is at a far higher cost.

There is also a concern over whether the current testing (e.g. Cold Point (CP), Cold Filter Plug Point (CFPP), Pour Point (PP), Low Temperature Flow Test (LTFT)) done to assess cold weather operability characteristics of diesel fuel are adequate for testing biodiesel blends.

Unfortunately this discussion has been complicated by many factors including the change from Low Sulfur (LSD) to Ultra-Low Sulfur diesel (ULSD), that diesel fuel changes seasonally, the fact that biodiesel derived from different base oils have far different characteristics, that transportation and storage affect quality, and that materials will tend to precipitate out of biodiesel when it cold for extended periods of time.

To read the complete Minnesota Report to the Legislature please click here: Report to the Legislature February 2009

Please post your comments, questions, ideas, and thoughts.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009© - William Richards

E-Diesel – A Fuel for the Future?

E-Diesel – A Fuel for the Future?

Image Courtesy of University Of Illinois

E-Diesel is a blend of Ethanol and Diesel Fuel together with a multifunctional additive package. E-diesel is typically a 7% to 15 % blend of Ethanol in #2 diesel fuel together with 2% to 5% of additive. Early on it was referred to as “Oxygenated Diesel”, now however; most call it E-Diesel.

E-diesel is popular in Brazil as they produce a large amount of Ethanol from biomass left over from growing and processing sugar cane. Brazil has a limited supply of domestic crude oil and this has given them a huge incentive to develop alternative fuels and their government has stepped up to the plate to make it happen.

As a result Brazil is today an energy independent country, something we should aspire to become.

E-diesel has not been popular in the US, although it has been tested in some large fleets here with mixed results.

However the problems with Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel, with Biodiesel being forced into our diesel and the recent very high price of fuel (now temporarily better) have made this technology worth another look.

E-diesel has a number of negative characteristics, it is hygroscopic (soaking up huge amounts of water if allowed to do so), Ethanol lowers the flash point of the diesel, Ethanol destroys lubricity in the fuel, and Ethanol makes the fuel less stable.

The pluses are that it improves cold weather characteristics, lowers CO and NOx, potentially (when derived from cellulosic biomass) lowers cost of the finished fuel, and increases the amount of non-petroleum renewable fuel available.

E-diesel using Ethanol produced from Bagass (the parts leftover from making sugar from sugar cane) is winner. Ethanol made from corn is a loser, the yield is very low, and it affects human and animal feedstocks.

The biggest winner is if you make diesel fuel from algae and use the biomass left over to produce Cellulosic Ethanol which can be burned in boiler, added to gasoline, or added to diesel. It is possible that Ethanol produced in this manner could cost as little as $1.00 per gallon.

The potential of producing a high quality cellulosic Ethanol from biomass is a game changer.

Ethanol in fuels presents significant problems in many areas. However these problems can be overcome or managed through changes in the way we handle fuels and blending, changes in equipment using these fuels, and though the use of properly formulated additive packages.

For more information please go to: http://www.lcbamarketing.com

Please comment with thoughts, ideas, and suggestions.

Diesel Doctor

Copyright 2009© - William Richards