DieselEmissionsInsider2024 - 12

DIESEL EMISSIONS
Why Engine Oils Are Crucial for the
Diesel Emissions Industry
VERY OFTEN WHEN A DIESEL FILTER CLEANING business is
processing fi lters, the technicians performing the work are mostly
unaware excess contamination in the diesel particulate fi lter
could be caused by inferior engine oil that doesn't meet the latest
standards for diesel engines. As with any products that are sold,
less expensive products are attractive to truck owners and fl eet
managers. Unsuspecting users of these less expensive oils end up
seeing an increase in maintenance costs. There are two fi nancial
numbers truck owners and fl eet managers are constantly aware
of: the maintenance budget and the cost per mile or per hour of a
truck or piece of equipment. Sometimes the correlation between an
increased maintenance budget and a reduced cost per mile/per hour
to operate is not evaluated for the benefi t of reducing the cost to
operate. This is not the case in all operations as there are very savvy
fl eet managers who understand how all of the pieces of maintenance
aff ect the equipment's cost of operation and ownership.
As with everything that is new (which diesel emissions fi ltering
systems can no longer be considered new since they were
introduced in the 2007 HD diesel trucking model year), the learning
curve can be steep and expensive for companies who are trying to
achieve reliability to ensure their profi ts. Not only have there been
changes to the diesel emissions fi ltering systems over the past 15
years, but there have also been updates to the engine oils that are
used and recommended by the engine manufacturers. The diesel
engine oils recommended today are far diff erent from diesel engine
oils used 15 plus years ago. With the introduction of the diesel
emissions fi ltering system came improvements in oil technology.
Through advancements in oil the amount of ash that is produced in
the diesel particulate fi lter is reduced.
Before we examine today's latest and greatest diesel engine oils,
let's outline a basic explanation of what engine oil is. According to
Lubricants and Related Products:
Motor oil, engine oil, or engine lubricant is any one of various
substances that consist of base oils enhanced with various
additives, particularly antiwear additives, detergents, dispersants,
and, for multi-grade oils, viscosity index improvers. Motor oil is used
for lubrication of internal combustion engines. The main function
of motor oil is to reduce friction and wear on moving parts and to
By: Mark Taylor
NARSA/IDEA Executive Director
mtaylor@narsa.org
clean the engine from sludge (one of the functions of dispersants)
and varnish (detergents). It also neutralizes acids that originate
from fuel and from oxidation of the lubricant (detergents), improves
sealing of piston rings, and cools the engine by carrying heat away
from moving parts.[1]
Over the years, oil technology has evolved so certain engine's
emissions outcomes can be infl uenced by the type of oil that is
used. For decades, engine manufacturers have always looked
for ways to improve fuel economy and extend the life of their
engines. Even though synthetic oils have been around since the
oil embargo of Germany during WWII, they were not widely used.
Once the government started to mandate more stringent emission
and fuel economy standards many OEMs started to use synthetic
oils as original fi ll from the factory. The synthetic oil helped the
manufacturers to meet the more stringent regulations being placed
on them by the government. The OEM's cannot ensure the consumer
will continue to use synthetic oil since it is more expensive, but the
engines and their rated performance characteristics are based on
the factory fi ll of highly advanced synthetic oil.
Today's synthetic oils are specifi cally designed for diesel engines.
As was stated earlier, the diesel engine oils that meet the latest
American Petroleum Institute (API) standards have been developed
and rigorously tested to reduce the amount of contamination that is
present in today's diesel engines exhaust stream.
10 | DIESEL EMISSIONS INSIDER | March/April 2024
DieselEmissionsInsider2024

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