Diesel specifications

Diesel Fuel. Eederal diesel specifications were changed to specify a maximum of 0.05% sulfur and a minimum cetane index of 40 or a maximum aromatics content of 35 vol % for on-road diesel. Eor off-road diesel, higher sulfur is allowed. CARB specifications require 0.05% sulfur on or off road and 10% aromatics maximum or passage of a qualification test. Process technologies chosen to meet these specifications include hydrotreating, hydrocracking, and aromatics saturation. 

In the course of the review of the EU Fuel Quality Directive (2003/17/EC), petrol and diesel specifications are being reviewed, to lower their environmental and health impact, as well as to take into account new EU-wide targets on biofuels and greenhouse-gas emissions reduction. 

Property — c p Diesel Specifications tSTM D 975-78 250°F+ Products From... 

Fuel density is important for blending characteristics, but also relates to emission levels, fuel consumption, and emission control systems. Similarly, the viscosity of the fuel is important. Kinematic Viscosity is included in the Biodiesel Standard because it relates directly to the injection system performance. In the Biodiesel Standards, viscosity is often set at a specific temperature point. With most fatty acid methyl esters this is never a problem, but viscosity changes at low temperature can be much more problematic. Biodiesel tends to thicken faster than fossil diesel. Specific additives might be required to deal with this. 

So how much investment will be made to process low-sulfur fuels A recent Energy Information Administration (EIA) report estimates that U.S. refiners will invest 6.3-9.3 billion to reach full compliance with the ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) rule through 201 1.33 For Europe, refiners made investments of nearly 22.9 billion from 1997 to 2005 to meet gasoline and diesel specifications. From 2005 to 2015, an additional 9.7-14 billion may be spent on improving the quantity and quality of middle distillates in Europe.15 Thus, considerable investment will be necessary to bring cleaner fuels to market. 

The API SM specification, set out in Table 17.9, has mainly similar aims to that of CJ-4. The differences are that the CJ-4 heavy duty diesel specification has a major pre-occupation with the effect of combustion soot-induced thickening of the oil arising from relatively recently introduced environmentally associated emission controls, whereas API SM uses the ASTM sequences IIIG and IIIGA to measure the ability of the lubricant formulation to withstand (mainly) oxidative thickening. Phosphorus and sulphur content limits of lubricant formulations are set. The major part of the API SM specification is concerned with in-cylinder component and valve gear wear. 

Sulfur levels in gasoline and diesel fuels have been decreasing steely over the last several years, primarily in response to government regulations both in the U.S. and in Western Europe. For example, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency s (EPA) Tier 2 emission standards mandate sulfur level reduction from current 330 and 550 mg/kg sulfur in gasoline and diesel, respectively, to 30 and 15 mg/kg by 2006 and near zero by 2010 and later years [1-3]. Regulations in California are even more restrictive. Similarly, EN 590 European diesel specification mandates sulfur content of diesels from 350 mg/kg maximum in 2000 to 10 mg/kg maximum by January 1, 2005 in European Union countries. 

There is a trend in recent environmental legislation to lower sulfur specifications in both gasoline and diesel fuels. You work for a refinery in the Delaware Valley that anticipates a new diesel specification requiring an order of magnitude lower sulfur than currently allowed. In fact, legislation is already in the works in Europe to lower the allowable sulfur to this new level by the year 2005. To achieve these low sulfur levels, you are to design a new catalytic hydrodesulfurization (HDS) system. This type of reactor has been in use in industry for a long time, but never for such severe service. 

Table 1. Future Diesel Specifications for Selected Countries...

Whether equipment in existing imits ean be revamped to obtain future diesel specifications, or whether it is neeessary to build a grassroots imit. 

Bingham, F.E. Christensen, P., Revamping HDS Units to Meet High Quality Diesel Specifications, Asian Refinery Technology Conference, March 8-10, 2000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Van der Linde, B. Menson, R. Dave, D. Gustas, S. SYN Technology. An Attractive Solution for Meeting Future Diesel Specifications. ARTC-99, ARTC Annual Meeting, 1999. 

Properties Unit Test method Reference diesel 10% CPO diesel Thailand diesel specification... 

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