Posted September 23, 2009

Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and the aftertreatment technologies relying on it are critical in giving original equipment manufacturers the ability to make new diesel drivetrains that can meet U.S. EPA's strict 2010 reductions for on-road diesel exhaust.

Yara International, out of Oslo, Norway, is the world's largest producer of DEF and will be leveraging Mansfield Oil's supply and logistics infrastructure to sell the Air 1 brand. "Mansfield's Delivery One network is already poised to provide DEF in every major local market," the company stated on Monday.

All the vehicles that use selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to clean [NOx] emissions will need to use this product," Chad Dombroski, director of Yara North America, told Biodiesel Magazine. "There are no differences between the way petrol diesel and biodiesel are treated, though high-level blends of biodiesel might need increased dosages of DEF."

Currently, there are two methods used to treat heavy-duty diesel NOx emissions, SCR and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Navistar's strategy, for instance, has relied more heavily on the latter. "EGR alone will not meet the EPA's threshold for emissions, so Navistar will have to use credits to get there," Dombroski says. "In the next two years, they are going to need a significant upgrade in their technology."

SCR exhaust treatment using DEF improves fuel economy by approximately five percent and achieves NOx reductions in excess of 90 percent.