Noting that its test trucks already have logged 12 million miles using its BlueTec selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology, Detroit Diesel and its parent company Daimler Trucks North America briefed journalists on a host of SCR-related issues at the Technology and Maintenance Council’s annual meeting.
Company spokesman David Siler noted that Detroit Diesel’s DD13, DD15 and soon-to-be-released DD16 engines will use a “unique” one-box packaging system optimized to reduce exhaust gas restriction, resulting in low backpressure and improved fuel economy. But because the system is modular in design, fleets also can opt for a two-box configuration to meet specific vocational and specialized applications.
Overall, Daimler and Detroit Diesel engineers say pre-production testing up to this point has shown increased fuel economy of 5 percent for its SCR-equipped trucks. Even after taking into account the increased costs of purchasing DEF fluid, the company confidently is predicting fleets still will see overall fuel economy increases of 3 percent compared to pre-2010 engines.
Furthermore, Siler notes that a typical 23-gallon DEF tank will add only 382 pounds to a truck’s GVWR, and that the truck will be capable of driving “from Los Angeles to Maine” and back on one full tank of DEF without having to refill it. And even though the truck’s engine will derate should a driver attempt to operate with an empty DEF tank, “at no time will the truck be put out of service or come to a complete stop.”
Mark Lampert, DTNA’s vice president of sales and marketing, notes that SCR is the most comprehensively researched and tested technology in the company’s history. “Since early 2005, Daimler alone has produced more than 200,000 trucks and buses around the world using this proven technology,” Lampert says. “BlueTec technology and our integrated platform of engine and truck design will place Daimler Trucks North America at the forefront of emissions and performance capability for years to come.”
