Reductions in exhaust emissions with GTL diesel fuel

A comprehensive study has been performed to evaluate the potential of gas-to-liquids (GTL) diesel fuel in a passenger car engine. Sulphur-free European diesel fuel was used as a basis for comparison. It is shown by means of a vehicle emission test that the use of GTL diesel results in significant reductions in HC, CO, and PM emissions, without compromising NOx emissions. These results are confirmed by means of steady-state engine tests on a bench dynamometer, where it is also demonstrated that significant NOx reductions can be achieved by altering the engine calibration to take advantage of the more favorable NOx - PM tradeoff curve that is provided by GTL fuel. A vehicle noise test was also performed, which showed no significant difference between the two test fuels.