Fuel Quality Impact on Heavy Duty Diesel Emissions:- A Literature Review

The diesel engine is one of the most fuel efficient and thus cost efficient power plants available. This, coupled with its relatively low emissions of both regulated and carbon dioxide (CO2) gases, have ensured that it remains the engine of choice for the heavy duty transportation industry. Increasingly stringent legislated exhaust emission levels are driving improvements in both engine technology and fuel quality around the world. This paper reviews the effect of specific fuel quality parameters (cetane, aromatics, sulfur density, volatility and oxygenates) as a function of engine technology on regulated heavy duty (HD) diesel emissions (NOx, particulate matter, HC and CO).