Diesel Fuel Additive
Diesel Fuel Additive
(OP)
I have searched the entire eng-tips site, and can't find any posts on this.
I am reviewing a diesel fuel additive pitch (very skeptically) for a product that supposedly can reduce NOx and PM as well as increase efficiency. It dices, it slices, it makes Julian fries.
The dosage rate is very low (1:2000) - maybe impossibly low.
Is there even the remotest possibility that an additive could do this? I assume if there were, fuel manufacturers would be adding it to their product to get a competitive edge.
Thanks for any comments.
I am reviewing a diesel fuel additive pitch (very skeptically) for a product that supposedly can reduce NOx and PM as well as increase efficiency. It dices, it slices, it makes Julian fries.
The dosage rate is very low (1:2000) - maybe impossibly low.
Is there even the remotest possibility that an additive could do this? I assume if there were, fuel manufacturers would be adding it to their product to get a competitive edge.
Thanks for any comments.





RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
If their claim has any validity, they should at least be able to produce a scientific and engineering explanation for why it works. This might be enough to encourage a government agency or investor to fund a statistically valid experiment to prove or disprove the claims.
Of course, the usual business model for this type of product does not involve any of the above. All they offer is a smoke and mirrors explanation of the function, claims of inventor secrecy, and hope to sell the product to the gullible. The fact that these products have been around about as long as the motor vehicle is an indication that the business model I describe is a successful one.
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
Recent regulatory changes in the US have caused the price of highway Diesel to skyrocket past that of premium gasoline, allegedly because of the reduced sulfur level. Maybe the new process also takes out, or doesn't add, the other junk that has traditionally been delivered with Diesel. Or, not: I don't buy Diesel right now.
Based on my experience (with MMO in _gasoline_ engines), I'd have to assert that it is at least remotely possible for an additive to make a difference at low concentrations. I can imagine that there may be good reasons for fuel suppliers to not add it.
Is the additive supplier willing to warrant no damage to your engine(s)?
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
Bill
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
Don't be overly concerned with low additive treats; many additives are very effective at low levels, especially for fuels. For example, Tetraethyl lead markedly improves octane at something like a 10-20ppm concentration. As a matter of fact most over-the-counter gasoline additives are less than 25% active chemicals because most consumers expect to put 8-16 oz. in their tanks, and it is a hard sale to go against a 16 oz. product that may be 10% active with a 2-oz. package of 100% active . . .
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
cerium is another matter. cerium is used in small european diesel engines to improve the efficiency of pm filters. it therefore acts as a catalyst - it doesn't change the amount of PM produced, but it increases the amount of PM "catched" in the PM-trapping equipment mounted somewhere in the exhaust line. That works quite well, but has no influence on efficiency or the combustion cleanliness of the engine mounted in front of it...
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
99 Dodge CTD dually.
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
ht
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
Now we're talking about directly mobilizing a reactive lanthanide by the hundreds of tons...
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
RE: Diesel Fuel Additive
Nothing "does it all", whatever reduces NOx usually increase fuel consumption, DP and CO.
The ones that improve fuel comsumption (yes there have been a few) also had measurable increases in NOx.
We are proponents of additives in storage tanks to combat fuel oxidation and biological growth if turnover rates are low.
Fuel lubricity additives have had mixed results, some have worked well, some have contributed to deposits and caused failures not associated with the plunger and bushing interface.
B20 BioDiesel has had pretty good results, as long as fuel is turned frequently, and not subjected to long storage periods of extreme temperatures, but in most cases while most exhaust constituents went down, NOx was measureably higher.
If we found one that did what all the claims said, you can bet us and our competitors would be pushing it.
There are additives that do what they claim, and there are usually pretty specific about what they are for, and are supported by reputable companies that will usually back them up as long as they are used as intended. But no magic yet that we have found.