Mack Trucks Inc has announced that the 12-liter Mack E-Tech engine, which will meet emissions requirements that take effect in October 2002, is moving into the industrial validation phase of development. The company confirmed that the cornerstone technology of the engine will be cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), which Mack sees as the most viable technology for meeting emissions standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates in the 2002 timeframe.
Mack engineers also will use other technologies that will be progressively introduced in the E-Tech engine between now and 2002. Without divulging additional details, the company said one element of its strategy will be an evolution of the engine's unit pump fuel system, in which Mack will deploy flexible injection capabilities as early as the second half of 2001.
Mack says it is progressing not just in development, but also in the industrialization leading to the 2002 introduction. The company will launch factory builds of both the engines, and vehicles equipped with the engines, by mid-2001, ensuring that its industrial processes will be in place well before October 2002.
The company has and will continue to reduce the E-Tech engine's emission levels progressively leading up to the 2.5 gram NOx level required in 2002.
The company proactively implemented the 6-gram NOx calibration in third-quarter 1998, well before the January 1999 deadline for doing so, and currently is producing engines with NOx calibrations below 6 grams. New technologies will continue this progressive reduction, culminating with the introduction of EGR.
