BlueTec SCR finishes 25 million miles of testing

Sept. 1, 2009
BlueTec SCR finishes 25 million miles of testing

DETROIT Diesel Corporation's BlueTec emissions technology completed 25 million miles of testing ahead of schedule. Detroit Diesel officials discussed the way their 2010 engines are performing during panel discussions held at the Great American Truck Show August 20-22 in Dallas, Texas.

By rollout on January 1, 2010, Detroit Diesel's BlueTec technology will have surpassed 28 million miles of testing. Developed in Europe by Daimler AG, Detroit Diesel's parent company, BlueTec emissions technology represents the company's latest innovation in clean diesel engine technology to be fully-developed and commercialized.

“We are pleased to have taken full advantage of our early choice of SCR (selective catalytic reduction) as the best technology for our customers for 2010,” said David Siler, director of marketing, Detroit Diesel. “The 2010 BlueTec technology will be one of most extensively tested emissions technology system in our company's history, and having this decade of experience has allowed Detroit Diesel and Daimler Trucks North America to not only have an extended period of time for system design and performance refinement but also to gain significant testing and validation experience.

“The early commitment to the technology allowed us to finalize our production-intent designs early and to conclusively demonstrate the performance, durability, and effectiveness of our BlueTec technology on production designs over the extended life-cycle demands of our customers.”

BlueTec will incorporate the enhanced performance of Detroit Diesel's recently introduced DD15, DD13, and DD16 big bore engines, as well as the already proven ACRS fuel system and an integrated engine-compression brake. The technology includes the 1-Box packaging design optimized for low back-pressure and an all-new, robust diesel particulate filter material. The aftertreatment system will use urea-based diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) and has been fully optimized for low emissions and high fuel economy.

“We are meeting our program goals for performance and emissions, fuel economy, durability, and reliability,” said Rakesh Aneja, EPA 2010 program manager, Detroit Diesel. “Our current projections are showing up to 5% diesel fuel economy improvement, and up to 3% net improvement with our BlueTec equipped engines compared against today's engines.

“In cooperation with our vehicle colleagues at Daimler Trucks North America, we have had the opportunity to test our 2010 BlueTec system under diverse ambient and environmental conditions, operating conditions and routes. The results of our validation testing meet our expectations and offer a shift from fuel penalties to fuel economies for our customers in 2010, with simultaneous reduction of emissions and CO2, compared to today's EGR-only vehicles.”

SCR Is the Technology of Choice for North America BlueTec symbolizes Daimler's commitment to meet today's environmental challenges, while also offering exemplary performance and fuel economy. Since adapting the technology in early 2005, Daimler Trucks has delivered more than 200,000 trucks and buses around the world utilizing BlueTec.

“Recent studies show the rest of the North American truck and engine marketplace of truck fleets understand and prefer the benefits we saw several years ago,” Siler said. “Once they have the facts, they favor SCR technology two to one as their choice to meet the EPA 2010 emissions targets. It was only a matter of time before customers would demand improved fuel economy as well as clean emissions. SCR is the only proven technology that offers both.

“Nearly 100 percent of all big bore engines in production today for the United States and Canada that will be manufactured after January 1, 2010, will utilize SCR technology. BlueTec technology is modular and will be flexible for use in over the road and vocational applications, making it not only cost effective but simple and highly adaptable to a range of operating conditions.”