In a move being hailed as one of the most significant clean-air upgrades since lead was removed from gasoline decades ago, a new blend of ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel is on its way to pumps in the Washington region and across North America.
New federal laws requiring that at least 80 percent of the diesel fuel refined in the U.S. be ultra-low-sulfur kicked in Thursday. The new fuel will contain 97 percent less sulfur than today’s diesel — down from 500 parts per million to 15.
It will take 60 trucks built in 2007 to equal the soot emissions of one truck sold in 1988, experts said. Tens of thousands of passenger cars and large-duty trucks in the Washington region use diesel daily.
The new fuel should be available at retail facilities nationwide by Oct. 15, officials said. The new law currently only applies to on-road vehicles, so construction equipment and other diesel-powered vehicles will not be required to use the new fuel.
Ron Kirby, transportation planning director for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, said that because diesel engines tend to last longer, the full impact of the change may not be felt for years. Kirby said many jurisdictions are considering passing laws similar to those on the West Coast that would require older vehicles to be retrofitted to allow them to run on the new blend.
Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the D.C.-based Diesel Technology Forum, said he expects the cleaner fuel to give drivers new options in the showroom.
Metro has already bought into the new diesel technology. It plans to purchase up to 500 new diesel and diesel/electric hybrid buses and is considering purchasing an additional 500 by 2012. Some of the new buses will be in service by late summer, officials said.
More on diesel
» Trucking companies are welcoming the change but remained concerned the transition could cause diesel prices to skyrocket, officials said.
» Clean diesel fuel is critically important because sulfur tends to hamper the effectiveness of diesel exhaust-control devices, just as lead once obstructed the catalytic converters on gasoline cars.
» The EPA predicts that once new trucks replace existing fleets, they will reduce emissions of smog-forming gases by 2.6 million tons each year and cut soot emissions by 110,000 tons annually.
