In the News

Professional services firm Price Waterhouse Coopers’ South African Automotive division said on Monday that petrol and diesel vehicles would continue to dominate the market, despite manufacturers being under pressure to reduce carbon emissions and improve fuel savings.

“Increased regulations on carbon emissions, rising demand for fossil fuels and more fuel-efficient technologies are the major concerns of CEOs in the automotive industry,” commented South African Automotive partner Mike Rudman, in a statement.

He stated that this challenged the manufacturers on how to make vehicles more efficient, while still keeping costs at an acceptable level to make ‘green’ vehicles attractive to consumers.

Rudman said that environmentally friendly cars had shown little success, and consumers would only purchase green-technology vehicles if they did not cost more than conventional vehicles.

This meant petrol and diesel vehicles would continue to dominate the market for the next few decades. However, the automotive industry could contribute to CO2 emission reductions through enhanced engine concepts, alternative fuels and beyond engine technology.

Rudman suggested the industry could make significant improvements through concepts such as downsizing, charging and direct injection on petrol and diesel vehicles, while the convergence of diesel and petrol engines was also a viable option.

Further, the efficiency of internal combustion engines could be further improved by moving towards electrification and hybridisation.

In addition, Rudman said biofuels as an alternative fuel had its advantages, but there was little arable land available for the planting of such fuel sources, which could endanger food supplies as well as damage the environment.

On the other hand, gas, either liquefied or compressed, already presented an alternative to traditional fuels.

Rudman adds that looking further into the future at ‘beyond engine technology’, the internal combustion engine’s dominant position was likely to be replaced by the hydrogen fuel cell, which would take advantage of the existing electric components used in hybrids.

However, complete fuel cell dominance was still decades away and even if introduced to the market by the middle of the next decade, it would still take years for the fuel cell to be fully accepted by consumers.

Meanwhile, Rudman said there were other peripheral options available to the industry in reducing carbon emissions, which included improved transmissions, driver assistance programs, tyre technology and design, aerodynamic drag refinements, alternative materials and energy management within the vehicle.

Nissan launches first clean-diesel car From AFP:

Nissan Motor Corp. launched on Thursday its first clean-running diesel vehicle in Japan in a bid to open up a new market by rebranding the fuel as eco-friendly.

The X-Trail 20 GT sports-utility vehicle with an M9R engine offers powerful acceleration while complying with some of the world’s strictest emissions standards that will come into effect across Japan in October 2009.

The car increases fuel economy by 30 percent over a 2.5-litre gasoline engine and cuts carbon-dioxide emissions by 20 percent, Japan’s third largest automaker said.

It is the first diesel car in Japan in years for Nissan, which has been less enthusiastic than its domestic rivals in developing eco-friendly hybrid cars.

Japanese consumers have long snubbed diesel-powered vehicles due to the perception that they are smelly, noisy and sooty.

While diesel accounts for approximately 60% of vehicle sales in Europe, the figure is in the single digits in the United States and Japan.

“From now on we will build the image of diesel in Japan and aim to expand our sales by communicating the diesel engine’s appeal one by one to customers,” Nissan’s chief operating officer Toshiyuki Shiga said at a news conference.

“We need to transform each customer’s perception and idea into something positive,” he said.

The launch is a test-case for the company, which targets annual sales of 1,200 units “to see what the market response will be, and whether it will catch on,” said another Nissan official on the sidelines of the event.

With a price tag of nearly 3 million yen ($27,700) including consumption tax, it costs nearly 20 percent more than a comparable vehicle with a traditional engine, the company said.

But the price gap can be offset in fuel savings by driving an average of 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) annually for three years.

If a hit among the public, Nissan will start developing a line-up using the technology. It also plans to introduce the technology in its models in North America and China by 2010.

Nissan said it hoped the diesel vehicle would attract customers during a tough stretch for the car industry, which is faced with high fuel costs and a sagging world economy.

“The auto industry is feeling a lot of different headwinds at the moment but making high-quality and attractive cars to get over this difficult period is our biggest project,” Shiga said.

Diesel goes one step better – by Garth Cambray

Many of us remember the diesel fuel vehicles of old – slow, stinky vehicles that spewed black smoke as they rattled and shook along. Since the early 1990’s this has all changed with the gradual replacement of the diesel fleet with newer technology turbo-charged diesel engine vehicles. New turbo-charged diesel engine vehicles offer the low revolution tractor like-torque (that is why diesels are renowned for their trailer and caravan towing ability) and now have increased power to match their petrol-powered rivals at higher revs.

This advance in engine technology drove a need for advances in diesel fuel technology. Sulphur, which is a harmful component in diesel fuel, has for many years been present at high concentrations in South African diesel fuel. For South African consumers this has changed. Sasol Oil (Pty) Ltd, the subsidiary in the Sasol group responsible for the marketing of a wide range of modern fuels and lubricants, has introduced Sasol TurboDiesel™ into the South African fuel market.

New regulations in South Africa require an 80% reduction of sulphur content in diesel as compared against pre 2002 diesel sulphur levels. As fuel market leaders, Sasol has launched its new Sasol TurboDiesel™ brand. This diesel fuel exceeds even international performance requirements and is a first for the South African market. Sasol TurboDiesel™ has gone beyond the new South African legislative requirements of 0.3% sulphur content enforced from 1 January 2002, by guaranteeing a diesel with a maximum sulphur content of only 0.05%.

Sulphur in diesel contributes towards the formation of the acid rain causing and lung-damaging pollutant, sulphur dioxide. It is also directly related to the amount of soot formation in a diesel engine and hence also the amount of particulates introduced into the atmosphere. In addition to polluting the atmosphere, these chemicals pollute the vehicle’s engine itself: causing changes in the lubricating oil composition as well as the poisoning of the exhaust treatment catalysts, degrading their performance. In the long term, these chemical changes reduce the efficiency of the oil, meaning a need for frequent oil changes. Low sulphur fuels, such as Sasol TurboDiesel™ extend the life-span of the oil as it is not degraded as quickly. Longer oil-change intervals translate to direct savings of time and resources.

Sasol TurboDiesel™ will bring immediate improvement in the gaseous exhaust emissions from diesel engines and the effect will be particularly important in vehicle applications such as school buses, city buses, under-ground mines and refuse removal. Sasol TurboDiesel™ ensures a 45 – 70% reduction in potentially harmful exhaust emissions and an 80% reduction in sulphur dioxide, a primary cause of breathing difficulties. This decrease in sulphur content also translates into increased efficiency of exhaust treatment catalysts, which in turn translates into a cleaner atmosphere and hence less health-related costs.

This reduction will be noticed by vehicle drivers and pedestrians alike who will benefit from a cleaner environment.

Sasol TurboDiesel™ is dyed purple for ease of identification. This unique new diesel product has been designed and developed to benefit all categories of diesel users – from a new generation, hi-performance turbo-charged diesel passenger car, to sports utility vehicles, light delivery vehicles (bakkies), trucks and earth moving machines.

Future advances in diesel engine technology are being made possible by low sulphur fuels and Sasol TurboDiesel™ is making it possible for South African consumers to benefits from these advances. Products of sulphur formed during the combustion of fuel are either problematic foulants or corrosive. Advances in exhaust gas treatment technology have given us the catalytic converter for petrol vehicles. Such technologies are not yet available in most diesel vehicles due among other reasons to fouling problems. Promising technologies developed for chimney stacks have revolved around ceramic particulate filters and catalytic systems. A major stumbling block in the development of these technologies to complement diesel engines has been the high levels of sulphur and of sooty particulates which rapidly foul emission reduction systems. To reduce the particulates one has to reduce their causes, the major being fuel sulphur content. The provision of low sulphur fuels by market leaders such as Sasol, paves the way for the development of Africa relevant emission reduction systems.


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Editorial: As diesel vehicle owners we are pleased to note the following list of benefits of the new Sasol TurboDiesel™

-improved engine performance;
-longer engine life;
-extended oil change intervals;
-and a cleaner environment.

The savings resulting from using better fuel will save a pickup truck/bakkie owner about R4500 (US$370) every 30000km. The use of low sulphur fuel in combination with a used oil monitoring programme increases the oil change interval from 7500km to 15000km (For vehicle’s still under warrantee the marketer must be consulted before drain intervals are extended). For a small business with one vehicle, this represents a 50% reduction in days lost to vehicle maintenance.

In some ways this new fuel will be like a better bottle of wine for a car – it causes less wear and tear than plonk, the headache will be much lighter than with plonk, the mood better and the bouquet terrific.

SA goes for cleaner diesel

27 July 2006
Ever felt like holding your breath when the car in front of you is emitting foul-smelling, dirty black smoke from its exhaust?

One of the major causes of that noxious smoke is the sulphur content in diesel fuel, but with South Africa tightening its legislation around air quality, the country is seeing more of its big polluters taking innovative steps to reduce toxic atmospheric emissions.

In some cases they are going a step further, offering products that fall below the minimum emissions now permissible, as is the case with BP, which has launched a new ultra-low-sulphur diesel fuel containing 50 parts per million of sulphur.

The standard cleaner diesel fuel currently allowed by law has a sulphur content of no more than 500 parts per million (ppm).

However, South Africans are likely to see this level gradually reduced to a point where even less sulphur emissions are permissible, says Peter Lukey, chief director of air quality management at the Department of Environmental Affairs.

The National Environment Management Air Quality Act of 2004 tightens up the conditions under which emissions that reduce air quality are permissible.

The government has set up a timetable for reductions in the sulphur content of diesel, with further reductions on the cards as South Africa gradually brings its standards in line with those around the world.

BP Cleaner Diesel 50
“[I]n reality all new-technology diesel vehicles are designed for European standard diesel with a sulphur level of 50ppm, which is why we launched BP Cleaner Diesel 50,” BP’s Sipho Maseko said at the launch of BP’s Cleaner Diesel 50 product in Cape Town on Wednesday.

The company’s new product is currently available only in the coastal regions of Cape Town and Durban, but will be available in Gauteng in a few months’ time.

BP Cleaner Diesel 50
The move has been welcomed by the government, with Lukey saying there was “no doubt that a reduction in sulphur [in diesel fuel] will have a dramatic impact on our air quality”.
Clearing the ‘brown haze’
Lukey said the government would continue encouraging industry’s compliance with its air quality standards, and a list of “controlled emitters” would soon be published in a move to reduce air pollution.

One of the first controlled emitters the government would looking at was motor vehicles, Lukey said, noting that air pollution studies had found that the major cause of the “brown haze” covering the country’s cities was vehicle emissions.

Ivan Bromfield, a health manager at the City of Cape Town, said one particular study had found that diesel vehicle emissions caused about 48% of this “brown haze”, followed by petrol vehicles with 17% and industry emissions with 13%.

by Shaun Benton – Source: BuaNews