Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by sootienann

diesel cars are highly polluting compare to petrol

sootienann — Mon, 24 Aug 2015 21:35:33 +0800

TLDR version
1. diesel cars were first popularized in the 90s due to their low carbon emissions . European tree-huggers made laws providing favorable financial incentives for diesel cars.

2. in the 21st century, governments realized that diesel cars produced a lot of NOx, a major air pollutant which causes asthma and respiratory and heart diseases.

3. paris and London are planning to restrict/penalize diesel cars. USA has mandated a nation-wide law requiring all diesel vehicles to be equipped with a urea tank.

London and Paris BAN on diesel cars imminent

source: london and paris will restrict diesel cars due to highly dangerous NOx emisisons

Pollution is so high in the capital, and diesel fumes so damaging, experts believe Boris Johnson will follow Paris' lead and ban the cars from London's roads within the decade

London will follow Paris and introduce an outright ban on diesel cars which are causing "serious health damage" in the capital, campaigners warn.

The Mayor of Paris has announced radical plans to ban diesel cars from the French capital by 2020 due to concerns about how much pollution the cars cause.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, is also grappling with the issue of how to tackle pollution from the fuels fumes which contain tiny particles and nitrogen oxides and have been increasingly proven to be seriously damaging to health.

France, which has the highest number of diesel cars on the road, will now ban the cars out right with Anne Hidalgo, the Parisian Mayor pledging "an end to diesel in Paris in 2020".

She also said the city would have more semi-pedestrianised areas with special zones introduced at weekends.

Boris Johnson currently plans to raise the congestion charge for diesel cars by £10 in a move to cut air pollution.

The change would mean diesel drivers could have to pay a total of £20 to get into Central London.

Under the plans petrol cars registered before 2006 would also have to pay extra under the plans which the Mayor wants in place by 2020.

However campaigners say this will not be enough and London will still be following the Parisian example with an outright ban.

Stephen Joseph, of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "I think the motor industry is wholly unprepared for the way in which the science is turning against diesels. The sciences is hardening up and it is showing different and serious health damage which is a really serious problem.

"All this emerging science I was going to have wide ranging ramifications, both in terms of the kind of cars we drive and where they are driven.

"London is very polluted and busy. Where Paris goes London won't be far behind - London is already talking about an ultra low emission zone, banning all sorts of diesel vehicles, this is not unlikely that they will banned altogether in the same way Paris has done."

In Britain, about 29,000 premature deaths a year are thought to be caused by air pollution and people living in London, Birmingham and Leeds will be exposed to dangerous air pollution from engine fumes until the 2030s unless stricter rules are imposed, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Earlier this year Mr Johnson' Mayor’s senior advisor for environment and energy Matthew Pencharz, said: “When it comes to tackling London’s air pollution. and protecting the health and well-being of all Londoners, diesel cars are an issue which must be addressed.

“Over recent years the Euro diesel engine standards have not delivered the emission savings expected, yet governments have been incentivising us to buy them. This has left us with a generation of dirty diesels.”

"Cllr Caroline Russell, Green Party Local Transport spokesperson, said: "This is the third EAC report in five years and scandalously there has been no government action since the last report in 2011.

"Quite clearly our health is being severely damaged by exposure to polluted air caused by traffic emissions particularly from diesel vehicles."

"The hand wringing has to stop. We need brave political action to tackle our over-dependence on motorised private transport. That means investing seriously in public transport, scrapping the proposed new roads and ensuring that everyone has access to safe convenient networks of walking and cycling routes."

UREA tanks mandatory for all diesel vehicles in USA starting from 2010

source: USA require all diesel vehicles to be fitted with urea tanks due to poisonous NOx fumes

Urea tanks will be standard equipment for most new diesel trucks, buses, cars, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) manufactured in the United States after Jan. 1, 2010. An automotive grade of urea will be injected into the vehicles' exhaust stream to "scrub" nitrogen oxide (NOx) from the diesel exhaust.

NOx, a major air pollutant, contributes to smog, which causes asthma and respiratory and heart diseases.

The system, urea SCR or "urea-based selective catalytic reduction," is the only technology available that can remove enough NOx from diesel exhaust to comply with strict new limits imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), says Glenn Kedzie, Environmental Counsel for the American Trucking Associations.

The automotive urea, called "diesel exhaust fluid" (DEF) in the United States and AdBlue, a trademarked name in Europe, reduces NOx by as much as 90% alone, and can take NOx to near-zero levels when used in combination with diesel particulate filter technology, says Kim Doran, spokesperson of the newly formed North American SCR Stakeholders Group and editor of FactsAboutSCR.com, a Web site dedicated to SCR news.

DEF and AdBlue are an aqueous urea solution 32 (AUS 32), a clear 32.5% nitrogen solution of high-purity urea in demineralized water. The urea solutions are safe to handle, manufacturers claim. AdBlue can be bought in bulk in Europe or by the liter at some service stations.

The advent of DEF and AdBlue is creating a new demand for urea, the world's most widely used nitrogen fertilizer. Some are concerned that the new use will drive fertilizer prices higher. Others think it will be an incentive for manufacturers to increase production and thus, lower prices.

"We know about diversion of traditional food crops such as corn or sugarcane to biofuels like ethanol--but now urea, a basic input for food production, is also going into fuel," says Dr. Amit Roy, President and CEO of the International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development (IFDC).

"Ironically, cleaning our environment is a key reason for both technologies."

Manufacturers Adopting Urea SCR Technology

More than half a million diesel trucks in Europe now use urea SCR and the fleet is growing by about 25,000 trucks per month, according to Integer Research, a London-based market analysis firm specializing in urea SCR.

Doran says that SCR technology is being adopted by passenger car and light truck manufacturers serving the United States including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Jeep, Kia, MiniCooper, and Volkswagen. Mercedes-Benz is introducing three new diesel-powered SUVs that use urea SCR technology into the United States in late 2008. Urea SCR is also used in Japan and Singapore and will soon be used in China.

Manufacturers in the commercial trucking industry adopting SCR include Freightliner, Kenworth, Mack, Peterbilt, and Volvo. Leading engine manufacturers using SCR include Cummins and Detroit Diesel Corp.

Future Demand

Consumption of the urea solution is about 3% of the diesel consumption. Diesel trucks average 6.5 miles per gallon (2.8 km/liter). An average diesel truck will need to refill its 20-gallon tank of DEF every 4,000 to 6,000 miles (76 liters every 6,400 to 9,600 km).

Urea to reduce NOx emissions now consumes 0.3 to 0.4 million metric tons (mt) of urea in Western Europe, says Stephen Zwart, Licensing Manager of Netherlands-based Stamicarbon, the world's largest licensor of urea plant technology. In 10 years the current truck fleet in Western Europe will have been replaced, and urea use will be 3 to 4 million mt.

Future urea demands generated by SCR technology in the United States have been calculated by Dr. Carlos Baanante, IFDC Agricultural Economist.

In 2003, 213 billion liters of diesel fuel were used for transportation in Europe and 146 billion liters in the United States, according to EarthTrends, an initiative of the World Resources Institute (http://earthtrends.wri.org/index.php).

Baanante assumes that only 7% of the diesel trucks in the United States will use urea SCR in 2010--the new trucks purchased that year.

"U.S. urea consumption for transportation will probably be the urea fertilizer equivalent of about 210,000 tons in 2010--but will be at least double that amount in 2011 and will increase rapidly afterward as older trucks are replaced with newer models that carry urea tanks," Baanante says.

The estimates assume that a liter of the solution weighs about 1 kg and the urea fertilizer contains 46% N, Baanante explains. Thus, 1 kg of urea solution would consume the N needed to produce 0.7065 kg of urea fertilizer. A conversion factor of 0.7065 is used to calculate urea solution consumption in terms of mt of urea-fertilizer equivalent.

"More than 90% of the world's urea production is for fertilizers--but new demands for urea SCR may change that," Baanante says. Urea is also used in animal feed, plastic and glue manufacture, highway de-icing, cloud seeding to induce rain, and tooth-whitening products.

Stringent New EPA Exhaust Emission Rules

Kedzie says that diesel-powered vehicles manufactured in the United States in 2010 can emit no more than 0.2 grams of NOx per brake horsepower hour--90% less than current emissions. The new EPA regulations will not apply to vehicles manufactured before 2010.

Tractors, bulldozers, and other non-road vehicles must meet the new EPA standards by 2015. The U.S. timetable for ships and locomotive engines has not yet been set.

"Some trucking agencies are now buying new trucks that were scheduled for replacement after 2010 to avoid the expenses of urea tanks and buying and transporting urea," Kedzie says.

But Thom Albrecht, a transportation equity analyst with Stephens Inc. in Virginia, United States, thinks that most corporate carriers--the main buyers of heavy-duty trucks--will continue normal buying cycles as the next EPA emissions deadline looms in 2010. Albrecht reached that conclusion after surveying 88 carriers about their future buying plans.

New Demands Could Affect World Fertilizer Market

Keith Stokes, proprietor of Stokes Engineering and IFDC consultant on urea production, says, "Urea for NOx reduction will create a new demand that could drive up fertilizer prices--just as ethanol production did."

But Doran of SCR Stakeholders says, "Demand for this automotive-grade urea is not expected to exceed 5% of the world's production. The new use of urea to control vehicle emissions could lead to increased investment and expand world capacity for urea production."

How Urea SCR Systems Work

Urea SCR cleans the exhaust after combustion. The urea solution is held in a separate storage tank and injected as a fine mist into the hot exhaust gases. The heat breaks the urea down into ammonia--the actual NOx-reducing agent. Through a catalytic converter, the ammonia breaks the NOx down to harmless nitrogen (N) gas and water vapor. The exhaust is no longer a pollutant; the atmosphere is about 80% nitrogen gas.

Bill Herz, Vice President of Scientific Programs for The Fertilizer Institute, based in Washington, D.C., says, "You hear a lot about harmful effects of fertilizer on ecosystems--but little about the positive role of urea in stripping away pollutants."

Doran says, "Because SCR technologies reduce NOx exhaust to almost zero, engines can be tuned to maximize fuel efficiency." The result is as much as a 3%𔃃% fuel savings and reduced carbon dioxide emissions.

"The exhaust coming from the tailpipe of an SCR-equipped vehicle may actually be cleaner than the air around it," Doran adds.

In fact, according to Daimler Trucks, the engine efficiency achieved by using SCR technology in Europe has saved customers more than 280 million liters of diesel and nearly half a billion dollars in fuel spending. At the same time, the environment was spared about 800,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

A Trucker's Concerns

"We're concerned because we don't know enough about the new urea technology," says Adam Collum, Manager and Co-Owner of Hellums Trucking Co. in Dennis, Mississippi, United States.

"A new heavy-duty diesel truck now costs about $100,000. Adding the urea SCR system will add $10,000 to the cost. How much more will the urea solution that we burn cost? What about maintenance? Will the urea cause corrosion?"

Doran says, "Urea can be corrosive to aluminum. Vehicle SCR systems and DEF dispensers have been designed to accommodate this and DEF is always stored in appropriate containers."

BlueTec Technology in Europe

The new diesel SUVs coming from Daimler in Europe to the United States are called BlueTec models because they are equipped with BlueTec SCR injection systems--a technology that Mercedes-Benz has used in trucks and buses in Europe for years. For these models, the urea will come in cartridges that will be replaced during normal servicing.

Detroit Diesel Corp., a brand of Daimler Trucks North America, has announced that it will use BlueTec technology on all future trucks.

The Mercedes-Benz E320 BlueTec won the 2007 World Green Car of the Year Award partly for "paving the way for super-clean diesel technology around the world." The BlueTec diesel emissions control technology was declared the best new technology for 2007 by the Automotive Journalist Association of Canada.

Planning for the Future

The North American SCR Stakeholders Group met to further plan the development of a distribution and retail infrastructure to ensure DEF availability in the United States in August in Dearborn, Michigan. Stakeholders include representatives of almost 200 organizations including diesel vehicle manufacturers, current and potential DEF producers, fuel and equipment distributors and retailers, as well as the U.S. EPA and Department of Energy, according to an Aug. 11 SCR Stakeholders news release.

Part of the work of the SCR Stakeholders Group involves development of a Web site locator for DEF similar to that used for AdBlue in Europe.

In Europe, AdBlue prices have almost doubled since mid-2007 and producers are finding it difficult to absorb cost increases for urea, Today's Trucking reported on July 18, 2008, citing Integer Research. "Add the fact that producers are getting better returns on urea when it is sold as fertilizer, and no wonder that prices have driven up," the report stated.

DEF Manufacturers

Traditional fertilizer manufacturers will probably produce most DEF urea used in the United States. Producers in the SCR Stakeholders Group include Agrium, Brenntag North America, Dyno Nobel, Koch Industries, Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, and Terra Industries.

Stephen Zwart of Stamicarbon says, "In Europe, manufacture of AdBlue has been a boon to many fertilizer manufacturers who now allocate part of their production to urea solution for the trucking industry."

Logistics of DEF

Keith Stokes says that delivering urea to gas stations should not be a problem. "Although the United States has more than 30,000 gas stations, only 2,200 of them supply 97% of the heavy-duty vehicle market.

"But urea storage tanks in some regions will need heating coils to keep the solution above its 12° F [-11° C] freezing point."

Pilot Travel Centers, the largest retail operator of travel centers in the United States, announced rollout plans to make DEF available "at the pump" at more than 100 centers in mid to late 2009 in a Sept. 29 news release. The Pilot Centers will also carry prepackaged DEF.

Aqueous Urea Production

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi is increasing production of high-grade aqueous urea solution for urea SCR systems, according to GreenCarCongress.com. The company's plant at Kitakyushu, Japan, has been running at about 20% capacity--about 2 million liters per year. As SCR demand increases, plans are to increase production to 10 million liters in 2008 and reach 50% capacity in 2009.

Japan's demand for high-grade aqueous urea is about 20,000 kiloliters per year, but industry sources expect it to increase to about 600,000 kiloliters in the future.

Need for Higher Production and More Efficient Use of Urea

"The new demands for urea to treat diesel exhausts will make research to improve the efficiency of its use as a fertilizer even more important," says Ramon Lazo de la Vega, IFDC Senior Engineering Specialist. "IFDC works in three main areas to increase the efficiency of urea use: through deep placement of urea briquettes, especially in irrigated rice fields; through controlled-release fertilizers; and through nitrification and urease inhibitors that decrease nitrogen losses to the air through volatization and to groundwater through leaching.

"New urea plants are also being built. For example, two large urea plants are opening in Iran and one each in Egypt, Nigeria, Oman, and Russia."

IFDC's Amit Roy says, "Most basic fertilizer products used today--including major improvements of farm-use urea--were developed by the fertilizer program of the U.S.-based Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the 1950s to 1970s when energy seemed cheap. With current manufacturing technology, the energy equivalent of four barrels of oil is used to convert 'free' atmospheric nitrogen to 1 ton of urea.

"The new demands emphasize the need for research to develop a new range of more energy-efficient technology--not only for food but now for use with fuel," Roy says.

QUOTE(zeng @ Aug 24 2015, 07:16 PM)

+1

Very informative and educational ................. basing on engineering explanations/arguments ,

Way to go , bro ! ..............................

unlike some(s) who try to win an argument by shouting the loudest with keyboards devoid of engineering explanations

and perspectives (would be very surprised if they know what is EGR , TWC , SCR, DPF etc...... ) .......

and then quoting politicians in newspapers , crying more about tax/compliance rather than engineering issues............
...............................................................................................
Note: To those who shouts with keyboards, let me know here if you need engineering explanations on EGR , TWC ,

SCR, DPF etc !
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QUOTE(zeng @ Aug 24 2015, 07:23 PM)

Refer to post #53 above.

Please respond points by points ,

with engineering facts/explanation/arguments,

Quote engineering sources if any, no politics please.
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QUOTE(zeng @ Aug 24 2015, 07:27 PM)

Besides NOx , I am still waiting from them ..........................................providing engineering sources quoting

superiority of petrol over diesel in environmental protections and emissions...... but is not forthcoming ................ as

yet.
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QUOTE(zeng @ Aug 24 2015, 07:31 PM)

+1

I would like to see link quoting engineering arguments ............ but unfortunately not forthcoming from them.
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QUOTE(supersound @ Aug 24 2015, 07:56 PM)

Trust me, if any of those retard can find a link to prove their lies are true, I'll retire from posting anything in Lowyat forum
If you can ensure complete combustion, the end result would be CO2 + H2O + N2, remember, air is consist of 78% of nitrogen.
But vehicle manufacturers never aim for complete combustion as quality of fuel won't be constant batch by batch, you may have constant quality of RON, CI, RVP but not distillation points. Because of this reason, engine are tuned to have excess air exiting the exhaust, this will create NOx and CO due to incomplete combustion. So, regardless of petrol or diesel engine, both will release NOx.
As EU mainstream vehicles are diesel engine, so they just simply blame diesel engines are the cause of NOx.
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buying audio equipment in singapore

sootienann — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 22:01:50 +0800

one seller told me that ICE equipment in singapore is 30% cheaper than malaysia.
is this ttrue? can we get significant cost savings just by driving across the bridge ?

factory fitted accessories

sootienann — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 00:06:18 +0800

lets take an example of the nissan almera.
it comes stock with 15 inch rims.
i have the option to upgrade to 17 inche impul rims for extra rm 4600.
but if i do upgrade, then i wont get the original rims.

so, can i wait until after collecting the car , then only buy the impul rims ?
that way i pay the same extra amount but get to keep the original rims and tyres.

true fitness 1 month membership

sootienann — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 15:18:50 +0800

i bought a couple of true fitness 1 month membership from groupon for my friend.
now my friend say dont want to go.

anyone interested ? i buy for rm 58 but willing to sell for rm 55.
call or sms me at 016 3908109

http://www.groupon.my/deals/klang-valley-k...tness/716063648

lost my samsung s3

sootienann — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:03:14 +0800

my samsung s3 was lost/stolen.
i want to ask you all, how do i bar the phone from malaysian networks ?

i dont have the imei number, all i have is the box and receipt from Sen Heng store.

livingsocial voucher

sootienann — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 20:15:53 +0800

did anyone of you guys buy vouchers from this site: ?

http://www.livingsocial.com/escapes/377226...how_missed=true

i bought but it says purchase pending and there is no link to download my voucher

jaring restaurant sunway mentari

sootienann — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:06:58 +0800

is the jaring malay restaurant at sunway mentari still open?
i passed by at night and it was closed....

where to buy blue flame lighter ?

sootienann — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:40:49 +0800

hi guys, any idea where to buy this type of lighter with blue flame ?
place around subang or puchong

Did Paint Protection Treatment 2 Years Ago

sootienann — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:31:14 +0800

my car did a paint protection treatment 2 years ago.
is it suitable if i go for wax and polish now ?
or should i go back to the paint protection center for touch up ?

how to map logical drive

sootienann — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 20:43:58 +0800

i have a nokia c6, and it appears in windows xp explorer as Nokia Phone Browser.

how do i map a logical drive to my phone ?

i need to recover some deleted files on my phone.

fitness center

sootienann — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:13:49 +0800

is there any fitness or yoga center,
within walking distance of ttdi or the curve ?

clubbing on a budget

sootienann — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:45:23 +0800

my main purpose go club is dance, not drink.

is there any club which got free/cheap entry on weekends ?
i just want to go in drink a couple beers n dance the nite away.

can see some clubs got happy hour promotion.
where the bottle costs cheap during happy hour.
but the T&C states " no custody allowed".
can i buy a bottle cheaply during happy hour, then come back later and bring my frens in ?

i know im poor.

why din malaysia conquer brunei last time

sootienann — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:23:19 +0800

why din malaysia conquer and assimilate brunei
20 - 30 years ago.
can take over all their oil resources.

malaysia had a strong standing military last time ,
when we were facing off with indonesia.

then we would be much richer compared to now.

calf muscle pain

sootienann — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:49:47 +0800

hi all,

i twisted my knee during football 2 months ago by stepping sideways on the ball.
after a while the knee seems to heal, but now my calf muscle is always pain,
especially after exercise.

im not sure whether its a problem with muscle or tendon or ligament.
already 2 months this problem still persist.
already tried to go for massage but no help.

should i consult a orthopedic or sports doctor for this problem ?
or just stop leg exercises and slowly let it heal ?

i know about knee guard and ankle guard, is there such thing as calf guard ?

are 2 year old tyres safe to use?

sootienann — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:06:25 +0800

i have a spare tyre, 2 years old.
i want to buy another new tyre of the same type, and pair it with my spare tyre.
is it safe to do this ?

Skype can call mobile phone ?

sootienann — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 14:58:31 +0800

can i use skype on my computer to call a malaysian mobile number ?

jalan alor restaurant

sootienann — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 20:27:19 +0800

jalan alor restaurant open until pst midnight ?
i want to go there at late hours.

windscreen repair shop

sootienann — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:44:18 +0800

is there any windscreen repair shop located around subang or usj ?

where can i buy paint ball gun

sootienann — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 13:58:55 +0800

where can i buy paint ball gun (marker) ?

cost how much to renew malaysian passport?

sootienann — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 12:40:26 +0800

cost how much to renew malaysian passport?