Cummins Inc. announced that the QSK high-horsepower engine range will move forward to meet EPA Tier 4 Final off-highway 2015 emissions with a combination of clean in-cylinder combustion and a new selective catalytic reduction clean exhaust system.
For most applications, the Tier 4 Final QSK engine and integrated SCR aftertreatment offer the installation simplicity of a drop-in replacement for the current QSK engine and exhaust muffler, with a similar size and equivalent noise reduction. Cummins says that while its Tier 4 Final technology achieves low emissions levels, it also reduces the overall cost of operation, with QSK fuel efficiency improved by 5 percent to 10 percent depending on the equipment duty cycle.
The new SCR clean exhaust system will be used on the next generation of 19-liter to 60-liter QSK engines across a broad 800- to 3000-hp (597-2237 kW) power range. Cummins says the Tier 4 Final engines retain the power output and in-service dependability of the current QSK engines in the most demanding high-horsepower applications. The SCR clean exhaust system will be scaled-up for QSK engines above 3000 hp, including the new larger-displacement engine platform, with details due to be released in September.
Cummins Tier 4 Final technology brings common emissions architecture to a range of high-horsepower applications, including mining, locomotives, marine vessels, oil and gas equipment, power generation, large cranes and other industrial equipment.
“Our next-generation QSK engines, integrated with the new SCR clean exhaust system, represent a game-changing technology that leaps ahead to achieve Tier 4 Final with the benefit of installation simplicity and improved fuel efficiency,” said Mark Levett, Cummins vice president and general manager – High-Horsepower Business. “Our SCR technology has demonstrated outstanding durability in service, equal to that of the engine platform. Using SCR aftertreatment for high-horsepower applications means we are able to avoid any major change to the engine platform and retain the dependability and power performance of our current QSK engines – and this continuity is of key importance to our customers.”
Cummins SCR clean exhaust system reduces oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions to 3.5 g/kW-hr for Tier 4 Final off-highway, representing a more than 40 percent reduction compared with the Tier 2 level. Cummins says the reduction in PM emissions – 80 percent to meet the 0.04 g/kW-hr level for Tier 4 Final – is achieved by a clean-combustion formula using higher-pressure fuel injection and enhancements to the power cylinder design, and that highly efficient PM reduction in-cylinder eliminates the need for either a diesel oxidation catalyst or diesel particulate filter aftertreatment in the exhaust stream.
Cummins also announced that the QSK Series of 19-liter to 60-liter engines for oil and gas applications will move forward to meet the EPA Tier 4 Final 2015 off-highway emissions with a combination of clean in-cylinder combustion and integrated SCR aftertreatment.
