Extracted from U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration web site.
For original document, go to http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/aqupdate/aq040102.htm#2
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| Environment |
Air Quality UpdateApril 1, 2002Fuel Booster Cuts Diesel EmissionsWhat started out as a combustion-boosting additive for locomotives may carry an unintended surprise benefit. A Missouri railroad organization reports that an additive focusing on fuel efficiency appears to reduce diesel exhaust emissions considerably. W.D. Spencer, president of the Terminal Railroad Association (TRRA) in St. Louis, announced that a series of operational tests using the chemical component known as RxP pointed to locomotive emissions reduction of between 40 percent and 90 percent. Adding RxP to diesel fuel used in graders and other off-road mobile sources equipment produced an emissions savings of between 50 percent and 70 percent according to the association's president. Constituents of diesel emissions that recorded reductions included carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and [nitrous] oxides. The TRRA now applies the additive to all its locomotives fueled in St. Louis. In addition to the environmental benefits tied to emissions mitigation, the association notes that net fuel savings should generate about $100,000 each year. |
