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ULSD (aka clean diesel)
What the heck? Another acronym? A new drug? Of course not!ULSD is Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel, which is the same diesel we were burning just a few years ago with one exception: the sulphur has been removed. Well, to be honest, almost removed. In Canada the sulphur content is down to below 15 ppm from 15,000 ppm.
Another way to think about this change is to look back at gasoline prior to 1980. Those of us born before 1965 remember the gasoline of the day was leaded. Yes, gasoline fuel contained lead. In the seventies, oil companies phased out the lead and began to market “unleaded” (this was mostly for compliance with catalytic converter legislation). Same thing here. The old diesel of yesterday contained sulphur while today’s ULSD is “unsulphured”.
No more SOx
Sulphur that was once a component of diesel fuel was pumped into our fuel tanks, combusted and then exhausted out the tail pipe as unfriendly sulphuroxides (SOx). Ugly, smelly, dirty stuff. You know what I am talking about; it’s the exhaust smoke that contributes to the yellowish brown smog layer in urban centres I referred to in an earlier post on ULEV.
With sulphur removed from diesel fuel, manufacturers such as Volkswagen were finally able to create extremely efficient diesel engines and emission control technology to meet stringent emissions regulations.
So you can forget about the complicated acronyms. Finding responsible personal transportation solutions just got a little bit easier and cheaper with the availability today of clean fuel and the launch of Clean Diesel technology here in Canada.
Available from coast to coast
But what about availability of ULSD for my new clean diesel? No worries. ULSD is now available at every diesel outlet coast to coast! So no, Canadians do not have to spend anxious hours searching for ULSD fuel when the gauge is reading empty. Which in a TDI is only about every 1000 km or so!
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