New Clean Diesel Fuel Rules Start
July 2, 2006
As of June 1, 2006, at least 80 percent of on-road diesel fuel refined in the Unites States must be ultra-low sulfur diesel. This means it must contain less than 15 ppm of sulfur. Some have compared this event to the requirement that removed lead from gasoline in the 1970s.
The new fuels will contain 97-percent less sulfur and will be available nationally at retail outlets by Oct. 15, 2006. Just as lead was a problem for the catalytic converters that clean car exhausts today, sulfur quickly hampers the proposed diesel exhaust filters’ ability to remove contaminants.
Today’s diesel engines produce one-eighth of the tailpipe exhausts of a truck or bus built in 1990. With the new controls and fuel requirements, it would require 60 trucks built in 2007 to equal the soot exhaust of one truck built in 1988.
This also makes a lot more sense in light of the disclaimer I saw yesterday on an adjacent diesel pump at Shell. "Federal Law prohibits using regular diesel in 2007 and later models." I would next be interested to see how long it takes to phase in new diesel...how annoying would it be as a diesel driver to see that disclaimer in 90% of gas stations for the next 6 months?
