4th Gen Engine and Drivetrain-2010 and Up 6.7 liter Engine and Drivetrain discussion only. PLEASE, NO HIGH PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION!

2013 urea

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Old Apr 12, 2012 | 12:28 PM
  #1  
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2013 urea

talked to local dealer today 2013 cummins has urea tank to assist with emissions
keep it up and the diesel industry will be non existent.
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Old Apr 12, 2012 | 01:03 PM
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Urea is a good thing on emission equipped diesels. Less EGR is required when using urea.

MikeyB
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Old Apr 12, 2012 | 02:49 PM
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Too bad there is no EPA in China or any other part of the world for that matter. I guess the USA has to set example once again for the big polluters in the world namely China, Mexico, Russia, Turkey and about 100 other countries that have no clean air standard. The number of deaths due to lung cancer in China has risen by 465 percent in the past 30 years. I guess giving up the bicycle for the motorcar does have its drawbacks.
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Old Apr 12, 2012 | 04:03 PM
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IMO urea is a good thing. WAY less egr and let it clean it up in the chamber. That being said, yes, unless china, mexico, brazil, russia and india get on board, they can have all the clean diesel they want in north america and it won't amount to a drop in the bucket. I'm all for clean air, etc. but when my truck was getting the mileage of a semi, how is that a good thing?
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Old Apr 15, 2012 | 02:46 PM
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Another person who knows squat about SCR whining about it. Sheesh.

Chris
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Old Apr 15, 2012 | 08:12 PM
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Originally Posted by signature600
Another person who knows squat about SCR whining about it. Sheesh.

Chris
I thought I would enlighten everyone else for you chris

Selective catalytic reduction
An aqueous ammonia SCR Process Overview; note that a vaporizer would not be necessary when using anhydrous ammoniaSelective catalytic reduction (SCR) is a means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as NOx with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen, N2, and water, H2O. A gaseous reductant, typically anhydrous ammonia, aqueous ammonia or urea, is added to a stream of flue or exhaust gas and is absorbed onto a catalyst. Carbon dioxide, CO2 is a reaction product when urea is used as the reductant.

Selective catalytic reduction of NOx using ammonia as the reducing agent was patented in the United States by the Englehard Corporation in 1957. Development of SCR technology continued in Japan and the US in the early 1960s with research focusing on less expensive and more durable catalyst agents. The first large scale SCR was installed by the IHI Corporation in 1978.[1]

Commercial selective catalytic reduction systems are typically found on large utility boilers, industrial boilers, and municipal solid waste boilers and have been shown to reduce NOx by 70-95%.[1] More recent applications include diesel engines, such as those found on large ships, diesel locomotives, gas turbines, and even automobiles.

ChemistryThe NOx reduction reaction takes place as the gases pass through the catalyst chamber. Before entering the catalyst chamber the ammonia, or other reductant (such as urea), is injected and mixed with the gases. The chemical equation for a stoichiometric reaction using either anhydrous or aqueous ammonia for a selective catalytic reduction process is:

4NO + 4NH3 + 3O2 → 4N2 + 6H2O
2NO2 + 4NH3 + O2 → 3N2 + 6H2O
NO + NO2 + 2NH3 → 2N2 + 3H2O
With several secondary reactions:

2SO2 + O2 → 2SO3
2NH3 + SO3 + H2O → (NH4)2SO4
NH3 + SO3 + H2O → NH4HSO4
The reaction for urea instead of either anhydrous or aqueous ammonia is:

4NO + 2(NH2)2CO + O2 → 4N2 + 4H2O + 2CO2
The ideal reaction has an optimal temperature range between 630 and 720 K, but can operate from 500 to 720 K with longer residence times. The minimum effective temperature depends on the various fuels, gas constituents and catalyst geometry. Other possible reductants include cyanuric acid and ammonium sulfate.[2]

CatalystsSCR catalysts are manufactured from various ceramic materials used as a carrier, such as titanium oxide, and active catalytic components are usually either oxides of base metals (such as vanadium and tungsten), zeolites, and various precious metals. Each catalyst component has advantages and disadvantages.

Base metal catalysts, such as the vanadium and tungsten, lack high thermal durability, but are less expensive and operate very well at the temperature ranges most commonly seen in industrial and utility boiler applications. Thermal durability is particularly important for automotive SCR applications that incorporate the use of a diesel particulate filter with forced regeneration. They also have a high catalysing potential to oxidize SO2 into SO3, which can be extremely damaging due to its acidic properties.[3]

Zeolite catalysts have the potential to operate at substantially higher temperature than base metal catalysts; they can withstand prolonged operation at temperatures of 900 K and transient conditions of up to 1120 K. Zeolites also have a lower potential for potentially damaging SO2 oxidation.[3]

Iron- and copper-exchanged zeolite urea SCRs have been developed with approximately equal performance to that of vanadium-urea SCRs if the fraction of the NO2 is 20% to 50% of the total NOx.[4] The two most common designs of SCR catalyst geometry used today are honeycomb and plate. The honeycomb form usually is an extruded ceramic applied homogeneously throughout the ceramic carrier or coated on the substrate. Like the various types of catalysts, their configuration also has advantages and disadvantages. Plate-type catalysts have lower pressure drops and are less susceptible to plugging and fouling than the honeycomb types, but plate configurations are much larger and more expensive. Honeycomb configurations are smaller than plate types, but have higher pressure drops and plug much more easily.[1]

ReductantsSeveral reductants are currently used in SCR applications including anhydrous ammonia, aqueous ammonia or urea. All those three reductants are widely available in large quantities.

Pure anhydrous ammonia is extremely toxic and difficult to safely store, but needs no further conversion to operate within an SCR. It is typically favored by large industrial SCR operators. Aqueous ammonia must be hydrolysed in order to be used, but it is substantially safer to store and transport than anhydrous ammonia. Urea is the safest to store, but requires conversion to ammonia through thermal decomposition in order to be used as an effective reductant.[1]

LimitationsSCR systems are sensitive to contamination and plugging resulting from normal operation or abnormal events. Many SCRs are given a finite life due to known amounts of contaminants in the untreated gas. The large majority of catalyst on the market is of porous construction. A clay planting pot would be a good example of what SCR catalyst feels like. This porosity is what gives the catalyst the high surface area essential for reduction of NOx. However, the pores are easily plugged by a variety of compounds present in combustion/flue gas. Some examples of plugging contaminates are: fine particulate,ammonia sulfur compounds ie. Ammonium Bisulfate (ABS) and silicon compounds. Many of these contaminants can be cleaned in situ ie. sootblowers,cleaned during a turnaround or by raising the exhaust temperature (ABS). Of more concern to SCR performance is poisons, these will destroy the chemistry of the catalyst and render the SCR ineffective at NOx reduction or cause unwanted oxidation of ammonia (forming more NOx). Some of these poisons are as follows: Halogens, Alkaline Metals, Aresenic, Phosphorus, Antimony, Chrome, Copper.

Most SCRs require tuning to properly perform. Part of tuning involves ensuring a proper distribution of ammonia in the gas stream and uniform gas velocity through the catalyst. Without tuning, SCRs can exhibit inefficient NOx reduction along with excessive ammonia slip due to not utilizing the catalyst surface area effectively. Another facet of tuning involves determining the proper Ammonia flow for all process conditions. Ammonia flow is generally controlled based on NOx measurements taken from the gas stream or preexisting performance curves from an engine manufacturer (in the case of gas turbines and reciprocating engines). Typically all future operating conditions must be known beforehand to properly design and tune an SCR system.

Ammonia slip is an industry term for ammonia passing through the SCR un-reacted. This occurs when ammonia is: over injected into gas stream, temperatures are too low for ammonia to react, or catalyst has degraded (see above).

Temperature is one of the largest limitations of SCR. Gas turbines, cars, and diesel engines all have a period during a start-up where exhaust temperatures are too cool for NOx reduction to occur.

Power plantsIn power stations, the same basic technology is employed for removal of NOx from the flue gas of boilers used in power generation and industry. The SCR unit is generally located between the furnace economizer and the air heater and the ammonia is injected into the catalyst chamber through an ammonia injection grid. As in other SCR applications, the temperature of operation is critical. Ammonia slip is also an issue with SCR technology used in power plants.

Other issues which must be considered in using SCR for NOx control in power plants are the formation of ammonium sulfate and ammonium bisulfate due to the sulfur content of the fuel as well as the undesirable catalyst-caused formation of SO3 from the SO2 and O2 in the flue gas.

A further operational difficulty in coal-fired boilers is the blinding of the catalyst by fly ash from the fuel combustion. This requires the usage of sootblowers, sonic horns and careful design of the ductwork and catalyst materials to avoid plugging by the fly ash.

SCR and EPA 2010Beginning with diesel engines manufactured on or after January 1, 2010, the engines are required to meet lowered NOx standards. All of the heavy duty engine (Class 7-8 trucks) manufactures except for Navistar International continuing to manufacture engines after this date have chosen to utilize SCR. This Includes Detroit Diesel (DD13, DD15, and DD16 models), Cummins (ISX line), PACCAR, and Volvo/Mack. These engines require the periodical addition of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF, a urea solution) to enable the process. DEF is available in a bottle for from most truck stops, and some have put in bulk DEF dispensers near the Diesel Fuel pumps. Navistar has chosen to utilize Enhanced Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EEGR) to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.
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Old Apr 16, 2012 | 08:38 PM
  #7  
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That might help....a little!
Chris
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Old Apr 17, 2012 | 08:45 PM
  #8  
johnh's Avatar
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From: lyman, utah
Originally Posted by BigIron70
I thought I would enlighten everyone else for you chris

Selective catalytic reduction
An aqueous ammonia SCR Process Overview; note that a vaporizer would not be necessary when using anhydrous ammoniaSelective catalytic reduction (SCR) is a means of converting nitrogen oxides, also referred to as NOx with the aid of a catalyst into diatomic nitrogen, N2, and water, H2O. A gaseous reductant, typically anhydrous ammonia, aqueous ammonia or urea, is added to a stream of flue or exhaust gas and is absorbed onto a catalyst. Carbon dioxide, CO2 is a reaction product when urea is used as the reductant.

Selective catalytic reduction of NOx using ammonia as the reducing agent was patented in the United States by the Englehard Corporation in 1957. Development of SCR technology continued in Japan and the US in the early 1960s with research focusing on less expensive and more durable catalyst agents. The first large scale SCR was installed by the IHI Corporation in 1978.[1]

Commercial selective catalytic reduction systems are typically found on large utility boilers, industrial boilers, and municipal solid waste boilers and have been shown to reduce NOx by 70-95%.[1] More recent applications include diesel engines, such as those found on large ships, diesel locomotives, gas turbines, and even automobiles.

ChemistryThe NOx reduction reaction takes place as the gases pass through the catalyst chamber. Before entering the catalyst chamber the ammonia, or other reductant (such as urea), is injected and mixed with the gases. The chemical equation for a stoichiometric reaction using either anhydrous or aqueous ammonia for a selective catalytic reduction process is:

4NO + 4NH3 + 3O2 → 4N2 + 6H2O
2NO2 + 4NH3 + O2 → 3N2 + 6H2O
NO + NO2 + 2NH3 → 2N2 + 3H2O
With several secondary reactions:

2SO2 + O2 → 2SO3
2NH3 + SO3 + H2O → (NH4)2SO4
NH3 + SO3 + H2O → NH4HSO4
The reaction for urea instead of either anhydrous or aqueous ammonia is:

4NO + 2(NH2)2CO + O2 → 4N2 + 4H2O + 2CO2
The ideal reaction has an optimal temperature range between 630 and 720 K, but can operate from 500 to 720 K with longer residence times. The minimum effective temperature depends on the various fuels, gas constituents and catalyst geometry. Other possible reductants include cyanuric acid and ammonium sulfate.[2]

CatalystsSCR catalysts are manufactured from various ceramic materials used as a carrier, such as titanium oxide, and active catalytic components are usually either oxides of base metals (such as vanadium and tungsten), zeolites, and various precious metals. Each catalyst component has advantages and disadvantages.

Base metal catalysts, such as the vanadium and tungsten, lack high thermal durability, but are less expensive and operate very well at the temperature ranges most commonly seen in industrial and utility boiler applications. Thermal durability is particularly important for automotive SCR applications that incorporate the use of a diesel particulate filter with forced regeneration. They also have a high catalysing potential to oxidize SO2 into SO3, which can be extremely damaging due to its acidic properties.[3]

Zeolite catalysts have the potential to operate at substantially higher temperature than base metal catalysts; they can withstand prolonged operation at temperatures of 900 K and transient conditions of up to 1120 K. Zeolites also have a lower potential for potentially damaging SO2 oxidation.[3]

Iron- and copper-exchanged zeolite urea SCRs have been developed with approximately equal performance to that of vanadium-urea SCRs if the fraction of the NO2 is 20% to 50% of the total NOx.[4] The two most common designs of SCR catalyst geometry used today are honeycomb and plate. The honeycomb form usually is an extruded ceramic applied homogeneously throughout the ceramic carrier or coated on the substrate. Like the various types of catalysts, their configuration also has advantages and disadvantages. Plate-type catalysts have lower pressure drops and are less susceptible to plugging and fouling than the honeycomb types, but plate configurations are much larger and more expensive. Honeycomb configurations are smaller than plate types, but have higher pressure drops and plug much more easily.[1]

ReductantsSeveral reductants are currently used in SCR applications including anhydrous ammonia, aqueous ammonia or urea. All those three reductants are widely available in large quantities.

Pure anhydrous ammonia is extremely toxic and difficult to safely store, but needs no further conversion to operate within an SCR. It is typically favored by large industrial SCR operators. Aqueous ammonia must be hydrolysed in order to be used, but it is substantially safer to store and transport than anhydrous ammonia. Urea is the safest to store, but requires conversion to ammonia through thermal decomposition in order to be used as an effective reductant.[1]

LimitationsSCR systems are sensitive to contamination and plugging resulting from normal operation or abnormal events. Many SCRs are given a finite life due to known amounts of contaminants in the untreated gas. The large majority of catalyst on the market is of porous construction. A clay planting pot would be a good example of what SCR catalyst feels like. This porosity is what gives the catalyst the high surface area essential for reduction of NOx. However, the pores are easily plugged by a variety of compounds present in combustion/flue gas. Some examples of plugging contaminates are: fine particulate,ammonia sulfur compounds ie. Ammonium Bisulfate (ABS) and silicon compounds. Many of these contaminants can be cleaned in situ ie. sootblowers,cleaned during a turnaround or by raising the exhaust temperature (ABS). Of more concern to SCR performance is poisons, these will destroy the chemistry of the catalyst and render the SCR ineffective at NOx reduction or cause unwanted oxidation of ammonia (forming more NOx). Some of these poisons are as follows: Halogens, Alkaline Metals, Aresenic, Phosphorus, Antimony, Chrome, Copper.

Most SCRs require tuning to properly perform. Part of tuning involves ensuring a proper distribution of ammonia in the gas stream and uniform gas velocity through the catalyst. Without tuning, SCRs can exhibit inefficient NOx reduction along with excessive ammonia slip due to not utilizing the catalyst surface area effectively. Another facet of tuning involves determining the proper Ammonia flow for all process conditions. Ammonia flow is generally controlled based on NOx measurements taken from the gas stream or preexisting performance curves from an engine manufacturer (in the case of gas turbines and reciprocating engines). Typically all future operating conditions must be known beforehand to properly design and tune an SCR system.

Ammonia slip is an industry term for ammonia passing through the SCR un-reacted. This occurs when ammonia is: over injected into gas stream, temperatures are too low for ammonia to react, or catalyst has degraded (see above).

Temperature is one of the largest limitations of SCR. Gas turbines, cars, and diesel engines all have a period during a start-up where exhaust temperatures are too cool for NOx reduction to occur.

Power plantsIn power stations, the same basic technology is employed for removal of NOx from the flue gas of boilers used in power generation and industry. The SCR unit is generally located between the furnace economizer and the air heater and the ammonia is injected into the catalyst chamber through an ammonia injection grid. As in other SCR applications, the temperature of operation is critical. Ammonia slip is also an issue with SCR technology used in power plants.

Other issues which must be considered in using SCR for NOx control in power plants are the formation of ammonium sulfate and ammonium bisulfate due to the sulfur content of the fuel as well as the undesirable catalyst-caused formation of SO3 from the SO2 and O2 in the flue gas.

A further operational difficulty in coal-fired boilers is the blinding of the catalyst by fly ash from the fuel combustion. This requires the usage of sootblowers, sonic horns and careful design of the ductwork and catalyst materials to avoid plugging by the fly ash.

SCR and EPA 2010Beginning with diesel engines manufactured on or after January 1, 2010, the engines are required to meet lowered NOx standards. All of the heavy duty engine (Class 7-8 trucks) manufactures except for Navistar International continuing to manufacture engines after this date have chosen to utilize SCR. This Includes Detroit Diesel (DD13, DD15, and DD16 models), Cummins (ISX line), PACCAR, and Volvo/Mack. These engines require the periodical addition of Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF, a urea solution) to enable the process. DEF is available in a bottle for from most truck stops, and some have put in bulk DEF dispensers near the Diesel Fuel pumps. Navistar has chosen to utilize Enhanced Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EEGR) to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards.
huh!
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 07:12 AM
  #9  
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As I mentioned in the other thread discussing this, it's really not a big deal. My 6.7 Powerstroke has it and works like a champ, for a couple extra sents per mile I'll take the 3-4 mpg improvement and less fuel dillution of my oil. I really don't see a downside here.
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 08:05 PM
  #10  
BigIron70's Avatar
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From: Sunny Southern California Land of Fruits and Nuts
Originally Posted by signature600


That might help....a little!
Chris
Maybe I got just a little too technical
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Old Apr 18, 2012 | 09:49 PM
  #11  
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Its good and bad, I worked on tractors with it, **** burns on your hands I don't care what they said about it.
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Old Apr 19, 2012 | 02:44 PM
  #12  
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Problem is DEF has a shelf life especially if stored in high temperature area. Never store in your truck where temps reach 110 or higher in the summer. Very corrosive to metals. Vehicle will not start if DEF tank is empty, but warning is giving before tank goes empty. If you shut off vehicle after warning then engine will not restart until you add DEF to tank. Never overfill tank when temperatures are below freezing, tank will rupture when the DEF expands in tank. Other then that it works great.
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Old Apr 21, 2012 | 11:54 AM
  #13  
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Originally Posted by NCPADiesel
As I mentioned in the other thread discussing this, it's really not a big deal. My 6.7 Powerstroke has it and works like a champ, for a couple extra sents per mile I'll take the 3-4 mpg improvement and less fuel dillution of my oil. I really don't see a downside here.
How much does a downstream dedicated injector for firing off the DPF help with fuel dilution? Versus DEF, I mean. I think the SCR will help with the charcoal build-up in the intake by lessening the EGR usage, right?
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