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| Urea |
Here’s the kicker…The price of urea, a key component in Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF), reached $392 a ton at the end of March, up from close to $350 at the start of the month. This represents a 9% increase over the period. Strikingly, the price of urea has skyrocketed by close to 80% over the past six months. The majority of the price increases have been seen since the beginning of 2021 and are shown below.
“Starting in 2010, DEF became a major need for companies using medium and heavy-duty diesel vehicles. Changes in EPA emission standards required reductions in diesel burning engines to reduce their pollution output to the lowest levels in history, and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) is the technology of choice for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). As this emission standard has increased to include off-road vehicles, generators and a variety of engines, DEF is being used now more than ever."
“Assumedly, as regulations increase, DEFs importance in keeping emissions down will continue to be high. Modern technology has quickly adapted to DEF's role in our lives, “ added Dedolph “Vehicles with SCR technology have a display on their dashboard that can easily alert the driver as to DEF levels. The improved fuel efficiency ,with the addition of DEF, is a great benefit for diesel vehicle owners when by law they have to conform to DEF emission standards.”
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There are very few cons with DEF as it is a fairly simple procedure to deal with. However when it comes to Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) there can be many maintenance and repair issues since they prone to clogging. These systems are complicated in design and a simple clogged filter can cause pressure and temperature differentials that can affect the whole performance of the engine.
ReplyDeleteThe only cons to DEF include the additional upfront cost to the truck, added nominal weight and some additional room to store an extra gallon of the fluid. The pros are better fuel economy, increased horsepower, more optimized combustion, fewer regenerations issues, less wear on the engine and in addition it only releases nitrogen and water vapor into the air.