Improving Fuel Economy & Emissions In The Transport Industry.

06 Aug 2018 in Transport

Whether you operate on the road or rail, or if you have a petrol or diesel engine, you probably will share at least three of the same goals:

To maximise vehicle availability
To reduce fuel consumption/cost
To make the fleet more sustainable

Vehicle design, vehicle set-up and driving habits are probably the three most critical factors affecting these goals, but you should also spend time considering the source and quality of the fuel used.

exocet®’s fuel additives have been carefully designed to improve fuel economy and lower emissions. This is achieved by extracting as much energy as possible per litre of fuel burned per mile driven as shown using the simple GCSE science equation for an internal combustion engine below.

GCSE science equation for an internal combustion engine

FUEL + AIR ————combustion———-> = ENERGY + WATER + CO + CO2 + NOx + PM

Fuel energy content and chemical composition are FIXED for a given fuel.
Extracting all the energy content means burning all the fuel fully. This is the only way fuel economy can be affected at the combustion stage.
Burning a hydrocarbon fuel in the air ALWAYS gives the products on the right of the equation.
The products of combustion are FIXED for a given volume of fuel used and are only reduced by reducing fuel consumption.
NOx is not just an issue with diesel.
PM (particulate matter) can be visible (smoke) or microscopic but is unburned fuel and wasted energy.

We understand that there is only so much you can do to a fuel as it is supplied that will affect fuel economy and emissions quality. However, a 4% improvement is achievable by burning fuel more completely in a clean engine aided with a premium quality fuel additive such as exocet® Diesel Supreme or Petrol Supreme. These additives keep engines clean, improve the cetane number in diesel and the octane number in petrol which enhances fuel combustion as well as making fuel more stable to reduce deposits and particulates.

Vehicle emissions standards

Vehicle design (fuel injection equipment and exhaust after treatment systems) has the biggest influence on emissions quality. Since 1992, there have been regulations known as ‘Euro’ emissions standards known as Euro 1, Euro 2 etc. leading to Euro 6 in 2014. These standards define acceptable limits for exhaust emissions of new light duty vehicles sold in the EU.

The aim of Euro emissions standards is to reduce the levels of harmful exhaust emissions, mainly:

Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Carbon monoxide (CO)
Hydrocarbons (HC)
Particulate matter (PM)

These standards are having a positive effect, with the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) quoting the following figures in support:

Carbon monoxide (CO) are at very low levels
Hydrocarbons (HC) are down 50% since 2001
Nitrogen oxide (NOx) are down 84% since 2000
Particulate matter (PM) have been reduced to virtually zero

It is important to know what Euro emissions standard your vehicle is if you are driving through London. The London T-charge which was brought in back in October 2017 means for some drivers in Central London’s Congestion Charge zone will face an added ‘Toxicity Charge’ for vehicles manufactured before Euro 4 (2005).