European Emission Standards and its influence on the Lubricant Industry
In the early 90s the European Union decided to achieve new emission regulations for Passenger Car gasoline and diesel engines, as well as for Heavy Duty diesel engines used in light and heavy commercial vehicles. These standards are prescribed in the ‘EURO Standard’ table, and are meant to achieve a better environment. In order to achieve these performance enhancements, the OEMs should develop their engines with better fuel economy and better emission control.
Engines were being equipped with direct injections, common rail technology and high pressure turbo chargers etc. On diesel engines an exhaust After Treatment System such as the Diesel Particle Filter (DPF) was introduced in order to reduce harmful emissions. At this moment the Euro-V norm is currently in force, but the new Euro-VI norm, focusing on further reductions on NOx (nitrogen oxides), will already be introduced in 2014. Also, in 2013 the Euro-VI norm will be active for Heavy Duty industry, setting further reductions on NOx there as well. To achieve these Euro-VI standards a combination of After Treatment Systems of DPF and EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) are already being developed and tested.
As the amount of sulphur in diesel fuel has been restricted to 10 ppm in European countries regulated under EN590 fuels, new high tech engines are demanding a higher performance engine oil. For this reason a new additive technology has been introduced: ‘Low’ SAPS technology. These newly formed engine oils contain lower levels of Sulphated Ash, Phosphorus and Sulphur and are necessary to protect the expensive After Treatment Systems which are mounted on the latest gasoline and diesel engines.
To understand the impact of these new emission regulations, the following example of Particle Matters of a diesel engine under Euro-I and Euro-V is provided: A car ride from Rotterdam – Leipzig is 689 km:
Not only has the engine technology and the necessary lubrication changed, also other parts of the driveline have been upgraded over the years. So has the CVT (continuously variable transmission) and DCT (dual-clutch transmission) been
Diesel Engine Euro-I PM Euro-V PM Reduction PM
96.46 g/kWh 3.45 g/kWh 97%
introduced, as well as the 5, 6, 7 or even 8-speeds transmissions, etc. High performance synthetic lubricants gave a positive result on better emission control and still provide a higher output on the passenger car and light van and heavy commercial vehicles engines.
These new ‘Low’ / ‘Mid’ SAPS lubricants have been introduced to the European market since 2000. For this specific new technology lubricants are prescribed by the ACEA standard under a ‘C class’ and under the API standard by ‘E6 and E9’, for the Heavy Duty industry. Different OEMs have also developed their own performance standards next to the ACEA and API performance criteria. An overview of such specific OEM ‘Low’ / ‘Mid’ SAPS performance criteria are, for example: VW 504.00/507.00; MB 229.51/228.51; BMW LL-04; Dexos 1 and 2 standard, RN 0720; PSA B 71 2290, FIAT.
Due to these changing emission regulations, oil companies such as NORTH SEA Lubricants B.V. constantly have to update their product line and introduce special high performance lubricants especially developed for use in these new modern diesel and gasoline engines with reduced emissions norms. As shown in the image, NORTH SEA Lubricants B.V. has introduced products such as their WAVE POWER GMD 5W30, WAVE POWER LL 5W30 and the WAVE POWER C2 over the years. As the emission regulations are becoming more and more strict, OEMs, the Additive Industry and the Lubricant Industry must all keep a close eye on these develops for the European Automotive market.
Nick Vocht, Director, North Sea Lubricants B.V.
LINK
www.northsealubricants.com
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LUBE MAGAZINE No.110 AUGUST 2012
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