Hino Motors Sales USA announced Monday, Dec. 1, that it will use selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s stringent 2010 emissions regulations.
“The EPA 2010 emissions regulation calls for more than an 80 percent reduction in NOx over the 2007 emissions regulation, and the most environmentally friendly, reliable solution to meet this challenge is SCR,” says Glenn Ellis, vice president of marketing and dealer operations for Novi, Mich.-based Hino Trucks.
SCR has been used in Europe for the past three years, with an estimated 600,000-plus vehicles running with the technology, according to Hino; OEMs such as Cummins, Detroit Diesel, Volvo and others already have chosed SCR technology to meet the 2010 emissions regulations.
SCR is an exhaust aftertreatment technology designed to reduce NOx from the exhaust by injecting a precise amount of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) downstream of the engine. “It allows the engine to operate at max fuel economy and performance level without the additional engine stress needed to control NOx with EGR alone,” says George Daniels, vice president of service operations for Hino.
The infrastructure to distribute DEF efficiently in the United States is being established, according to Hino, which will make DEF available through all of its 180 dealers. In addition, a coalition of industries – including truck manufacturers, truckstops, retail fueling stations, fuel distributors and DEF producers – now are working to establish bulk DEF filling stations at truckstops and diesel service stations across North America, the truck maker says.
“DEF will be readily available for our customers,” says Nick Vermet, senior vice president of sales and customer support for Hino. “Because most medium-duty trucks come back to a single domicile every night, we do not see the availability or the maintaining of the appropriate level of DEF in the trucks to be an issue.”
