Survey of Winter '93 Low Sulphur Diesel Fuels in the U.S.

Reports of disabling diesel engine seal failures which accompanied the introduction of low sulfur diesel fuel in October '93 prompted an in-depth survey of diesel fuel chemical and physical properties. The purpose of the survey was to anticipate other possible problems which might arise with the newly introduced low sulfur fuels. The survey will produce a database containing over 1000 number 2 diesel fuels from various parts of the US. About 75% of the samples tested were on-highway low sulfur diesel fuels. Samples analyzed were from the D-A Lubricant Company, Cummins customers failures (truck fleets of various sizes), and a number of retail fueling stations. Properties under investigation are % Sulfur, Cloud/Pour Points, Viscosity, API Gravity, TAN/TBN, Boiling Range, Aromatics content, Heat Content, Lubricity, and Peroxide number. While each sample was not tested for all the properties listed, an adequate number of samples were tested to give a clear picture of diesel fuel properties for samples collected over a 5 month period. Diesel fuel speciation was helpful in providing an understanding of many of the differences noted for low sulfur fuels.