The University of California, Riverside Bourns College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) and Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced the results of a new study on ultra-low emission natural gas heavy-duty engines, showing a new 11.9-liter engine achieved California’s lowest smog-forming emissions standard, and maintained those emissions during all types of driving.
The study results underscore the importance of the near-zero truck engines for cleaning the air. Most heavy-duty vehicles on roads today are diesel-powered and represent one of the largest sources of nitrogen oxide (NOx), or smog-forming, emissions and fuel consumption in North America. By contrast, the new near-zero emissions 12-liter engine, made by Cummins Westport, is the only heavy-duty engine in the category to not only meet, but exceed, the California Air Resources Board’s cleanest optional low-NOx standard of 0.02 g/bhp-hr.
Kent Johnson, associate research engineer at CE-CERT, led the tests on the near-zero emissions natural gas engine. The evaluation included regulated and non-regulated emissions, ultrafine particles, global warming potential, and fuel economy. The testing was performed during in-use testing on a dynamometer that simulated various types of driving conditions, from pulling into a loading dock to regional hauling. Johnson performed similar testing on an 8.9-liter near-zero natural gas engine last year. Those results found the smaller engine had even lower emissions than California standards will require in the near future—in some driving conditions, almost zero.
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