Performance and Emissions of Diesel and Alternative Diesel Fuels in a Heavy-duty Industry-Standard Older Engine

Conventional diesel fuel has been in the market for decades and used successfully to run diesel engines of all sizes in many applications. In order to reduce emissions and to foster energy source diversity, new fuels such as alternative and renewable, as well as new fuel formulations have entered the market. These include biodiesel, gas-to-liquid, and alternative formulations by states such as California. Performance variations in fuel economy, emissions, and compatibility for these fuels have been evaluated and debated. In some cases contradictory views have surfaced. "Sustainable", "Renewable", and "Clean" designations have been interchanged. Adding to the confusion, results from one fuel in one type of engine such as an older heavy-duty engine, is at times compared to that of another type such as a modern light-duty. This study was an attempt to compare the performance of several fuels in an identical environment, using the same engine, for direct comparison. Results of a large-scale fleet test and emissions test to evaluate the performance of several diesel fuels in a modern heavy-duty diesel (HDD) engine were presented in a recent technical paper. This article is the second in this series and includes the use of a heavy-duty industry-standard older engine, DDC Series 60 on a stand, to evaluate emissions and fuel economy of a number of diesel fuels that cover a range of products being used in the North American market. EPA, California, Texas LED diesel, biodiesel, biodiesel blends, and gas-to-liquid fuel were tested in this program. Federal Test Procedure (FTP) for HDD and the 13-Mode European Stationary Cycle (ESC) portion of the Supplemental Emissions Test (SET) were used for emissions testing. This document will provide a detailed description of this project along with statistical analysis of test results for eight diesel fuels. (1)