Volvo and Mack Engines, First to Be Certified by EPA

The first truck manufacturers to have their engines certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board as meeting upcoming 2010 diesel emissions standards, have been revealed.

Volvo and Mack will have their heavy-duty 11 and 13 liter diesel engines certified for 2010 by both EPA and CARB. These engines have been fully certified to meet EPA’s stringent standards without the use of emissions credits.

“This outstanding achievement is yet another testimony to the skills of our engineers on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Peter Karlsten, Chief Technical Officer of the Volvo Group.

Volvo and Mack’s emissions technology for EPA 2010 not only that cuts emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) to near-zero levels, but by using selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to reduce NOx, Volvo and Mack improved fuel economy and reduced emissions of the greenhouse gas CO2.

Volvo's technique for further reduction of NOx is through the aftertreatment of engine exhaust. SCR requires a catalytic converter into which is injected Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF).  The primary component of DEF is water; the active organic component is urea.

Urea is a nitrogen compound that turns to ammonia when heated.  When a urea-and-water solution is injected into the exhaust stream and passed over a catalyst, the urea reacts with the NOx to form nitrogen and water vapor -- two clean and harmless components of the air we breathe.

“These new emission standards have led manufacturers to develop ingenious technologies to reduce emissions to near zero while improving fuel economy using massive EGR.  Volvo diesel engines will meet the challenges of EPA '10 with improved fuel economy using the proven and highly efficient SCR process,” Volvo Trucks states.