SPECIAL REPORT
Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel: Changing the Future of Our Environment
With EPA regulations in effect, how does ULSD affect school bus operations going forward?
By John Whelan Te first thing many fleet operators
think about when maintaining school buses is how clean is the fuel? Poor quality fuel or signs of water con-
tamination would shut a fleet down so fast it would knock your socks off. It’s re- freshing for many school bus operators to know that Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel is the cleanest diesel fuel developed to date and will be carefully regulated going forward by the EPA. While ULSD refining has removed
harmful emissions close to zero levels, it still raises a lot of questions about how it affects the technicians and the overall in- dustry. Since the implementation of this super
fuel, engine and fuel technology
have changed drastically. EPA standards require fuel refiners, engine manufactur- ers and vehicle operators to step up to the plate and work with strict emission stan- dards for 2010.
THE STORY BEHIND ULSD Beginning in 2001, the EPA passed high-
er standards for exhaust emissions that required the use of ULSD. Tis affected diesel engines in buses, trucks, construc- tion equipment and now stationary sources. No longer should we see plumes of black diesel exhaust coating the skyline containing high amounts of sulfur com- pounds contributing to health problems and depletion of the ozone layer. Model-year 2007 and newer engines
must burn ULSD or suffer the conse- quences of costly repairs on failed emission control components, which cannot handle high levels of sulfur. ULSD has a sulfur limit of 15 ppm (parts per million) compared to its predecessor, Low Sulfur Diesel, with a sulfur limit of 500 ppm. ULSD will drastical- ly reduce particulate matter and nitrogen oxides in diesel exhaust. It will allow reliable use of after-treatment
34 School Transportation News Magazine March 2011
systems such as diesel particulate filters. Engines 2007 and newer will not function properly without ULSD. In the beginning, checking the labeling on the dashboard and fuel tank was part of driver training, especially with regard to fleet operations. Labeling on the filling station pump was a primary check, as well, to make sure ULSD was available.
MONITORING THE TRANSITION Te EPA ran a survey from the fourth
quarter of 2006 to the third quarter of 2010 and found that 100 percent of high- way diesel pumps are now dispensing ULSD with an average sulfur content of 7 ppm. Te percentages were very low for improperly labeled pumps with 92 per- cent being correctly labeled. Since Dec. 1, 2010 it is mandatory for
all highway diesel fuel to consist of ULSD. Refiners were required to start producing the fuel beginning June 1, 2006. Fuel ter-
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