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When 2010 rolls around in about nine months, all automakers that offer diesel vehicles in the United States will need to meet new requirements that will mandate a 90 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions compared to what is allowable today. These regulations will also cover large pickup trucks from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. Each automaker is free to choose what technology it will use to meet the emissions rules, and, surprisingly, the three aren't always taking the same route.

For the 2010 model year, Chrysler has announced that it will use two different technologies to meet the regulated NOx levels. Since 2007, the Cummins diesel engines installed in Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 models have met the 2010 standards using an exhaust gas recirculation system along with a special catalyst that uses precious metals to scrub NOx gases. Larger Ram trucks with diesel engines will join GM and Ford in using a liquid consisting of urea and deionized water beginning next year.

This Diesel Exhaust Fluid will be stored in a tank and injected as a mist into the exhaust. Due to the high temperatures present, the fluid will turn into ammonia and will help break down the harmful NOx gases. Our friends at PickupTrucks.com have a nice article detailing the system that Heavy Duty Dodge trucks will launch for the 2010 model year, click here to check it out.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

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    • 1 Second Ago
      • 4 Months Ago
      Aren't the emissions still going to be there, just in a different form. Everything seems to be a way to cheat the current testing system. Burned Fuel is Burned Fuel. You will always have the same chemical by product, but not is seems that it will be on the ground instead of the air. Just a quicker way to contaminate our water supply.
        • 4 Months Ago
        Urea (DEF)-SCR reduces NOx back to N2 and O2. The atmosphere is made up mostly of N2 (~78%) and O2 (~21%), so you're just returning the NOx created during combustion back to atmospheric constituents.
      • 4 Months Ago
      2006 was the last year of "conventional" CR TDI light diesels so if you drive one you can still fuel on LSD diesel to keep up the lubricity. Just be mindful of your EGR / ACV system as it will be consumed by soot.
      DPF and or urea injection requires ULSD and even 1 tank of LSD can ruin the systems. But where is the lubricity requirement?
      My 2006 Jeep Liberty gets ULSD with a shot of 2-5% biodiesel to solve this problem and still keeps intake soot to a minimum. Bio is still too rough for the newer power plants however.

      • 4 Months Ago
      Why don't we all just kill ouselves right now and we won't have to worry about the EPA.

      When is enough enough. No other country on the planet is as clean as the United States of America. Why isn't the EPA pushing for the others to clean up their act. When are we going to "just say NO". We cannot keep up this pace or we will all become farmers again. Of course then they will say that our cows and pigs are killing us.

      Wake up Americans. Wake up before it is too late!!!
      • 4 Months Ago
      now our vehicles just become more expensive to operate, because of the ultra-low sulfur diesel we have to add additives to each tank of fuel, now we have exhaust filters and i'm sure are very expensive to replace, and now this, an extra fluid that we will have to purchase, no doubt will be expensive and will soon rise in price just like the fuel prices do all the time. so what's going to be next???????? elimination of the combustion engine is coming soon and all because of our "EPA".
      • 4 Months Ago
      Screw all this save nature save mother earth, id blow smoke from here to hong kong if i could everytime i pull off the line at a red light. Its good to hear earth choke when i jump gears, this bs is like neutwrin my truck. Oh and ps screw recyclin and if i could id suck the middle east dry of oil. I outta shove this exhaust **** right up a giant redwoods ass.
      • 4 Months Ago
      So if the catalist fails you could have the follow two things happen right out of your exaust pipe. Plus based on the piture above the output isn't N2 & O2, but N2 and H2O because pissing in your exaust isn't going to make Oxygen again, but you will have a form of taited water.

      Acid Rain - NOx and sulfur dioxide react with other substances in the air to form acids which fall to earth as rain, fog, snow or dry particles. Some may be carried by wind for hundreds of miles. Acid rain damages; causes deterioration of cars, buildings and historical monuments; and causes lakes and streams to become acidic and unsuitable for many fish.

      Particles - NOx reacts with ammonia, moisture, and other compounds to form nitric acid and related particles. Human health concerns include effects on breathing and the respiratory system, damage to lung tissue, and premature death. Small particles penetrate deeply into sensitive parts of the lungs and can cause or worsen respiratory disease such as emphysema and bronchitis, and aggravate existing heart disease.
      • 4 Months Ago
      Is there anything that can be used instead of DEF? What would happen if you just used water?
      • 4 Months Ago
      The DEF system is a great new technology that will reduce a vast percentage of toxic gases and chemicals in diesel trucks and automobiles. Since the US leads the world with 80,000,000 Tractor Trailers on the road everyday, this should help our environment a great deal. Flextral has done a wonderful job of contributing to the production of components for this innovative technology.
      • 4 Months Ago
      This the same as the Daimler Bluetec Diesel.