Photo courtesy of volvoce.com
Over the past several years, there have been major advancements in the automotive industry. From upgraded safety measures and electronics to improved fuel efficiency and emissions, cars and trucks on the road are safer and greener than ever before. These advancements, however, aren’t exclusive to cars, trucks, and vans.
According to a recent story in Green Car Reports, diesel tractors and construction equipment are also getting greener. To meet new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards, manufacturers of bulldozers and tractors are beginning to adopt emission-reducing technologies such as engine management software and particulate filters. These new standards, known as Tier 4 measures, call for “a 90-percent reduction in particulate matter and nitrogen oxides in 2014 model-year vehicles.”
Taking it a step further, the Diesel Technology Forum has vowed to reduce particulates and nitrogen oxide emissions by 99 percent and “significantly” reduce carbon-dioxide emissions. According to the article, agricultural and construction vehicles also benefit from the “Ultra-Low-Sulfur Diesel” fuel phased in by the EPA from 2006 to 2010. This special fuel has a sulfur content at or below 15 parts per million which means “it will not poison more advanced after-treatment systems fitted to modern diesel engines.”
Although the wider variety of applications make it hard to apply a given emission-reducing solution to every vehicle type, stricter regulations and manufacturers’ efforts to meet new standards will mean greener farm and construction equipment as the industry moves ahead.
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