Consortium to Research Affects of Common Lubrications in Diesel Devices

A new research consortium being formed at Southwest Research Institute (SRI) is looking to find the extent to which certain common lubricating oil components can poison or degrade diesel exhaust aftertreatment devices. The consortium, titled "Diesel Aftertreatment Sensitivity to Lubricants” (DASL), is examining the impact of sulfur in lubricants and studying other components including zinc, calcium,

FleetOwner Staff

March 6, 2001

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The consortium, titled "Diesel Aftertreatment Sensitivity to Lubricants” (DASL), is examining the impact of sulfur in lubricants and studying other components including zinc, calcium, barium, magnesium and phosphorus.

Research from this cause-and-effect study could indicate that some systems can tolerate the presence of lube components or additives within some acceptable range, while other systems might be found to be especially sensitive to poisoning.

Sulfur in motor oil can originate from crude oil as well as from anti-oxidant and anti-wear additives. SRI says any of those components might degrade the performance of diesel NOx traps, urea- or ammonia-SCR systems, continuously regenerating soot traps, catalyzed soot traps and diesel oxidation catalysts.