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Call 020 8912 2163 or tweet us 0rtm_ CommMotor Safety concerns raised over DPF regeneration By David Wilcox
THE FUEL distribution industry has voiced safety concerns about active regeneration of diesel particulate filters (DPFs) in Euro-6 truck exhausts, wanting regeneration vetoed while trucks are in fuel terminals. The Safe Loading Pass Scheme (SLPS), run by the major oil firms to ensure high safety standards during tanker loading at terminals, is talking with truck manufacturers about risks associated with high exhaust temperatures when active regeneration is used to burn soot trapped in a DPF, reducing back pressure. Usually this entails injecting fuel ahead of the exhaust aftertreatment system: the exothermic reaction of fuel burning over the diesel oxidation catalyst
(DOC) creates a temperature spike of up to 550C to 600C, burning soot in the DPF.
"We do not want regeneration inside a terminal," said Robert Harris, Shell UK's representative on SLPS. "We have met a number of truck manufacturers but so far we have not been given all the assurances
we want, saying that it could never happen," explained Harris.
Active regeneration in most Euro-6 trucks may be either triggered automatically (when the vehicle is travelling) or initiated by the driver when the vehicle is static, responding to a warning light on the dash. Even though trucks will include
a switch that temporarily disables either method, SLPS wants to be sure that drivers use it at a terminal. A trial is under way using a lockable cover over the switch, so when a tanker arrives at a terminal, gatehouse personnel will ensure the regeneration switch is off and its cover is locked.
The key is kept in the gatehouse until the vehicle leaves the site. A similar system already prevents use of night-heaters.
"Although we can be pretty certain that a truck on fuel distribution would not need active regeneration, we understand SLPS's stance," said Chris Griffiths, product engineering supervisor at Mercedes-Benz UK.