VW plans to switch whole range to Euro4 soon

CFriedriszik · Oct 1, 2000

Well, you might ask what is Euro4 at all ?
Euro4 is the emissions-level diesel passenger cars have to fulfill from 2005 onwards to be sold legally in Europe. This table shows you the differences between the several emission groups. Currently diesels have to fulfill at least Euro2 (like mine) and from 2001 Euro3. The only Euro4 car of today is the 3L Lupo.

I got this table from the server of the state of Bavaria: http://www.bayern.de/LFU/luft/kurzinfo/abgase.htm
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>
 Tabelle: Europäische Abgasgrenzwerte für neue Pkw (g/km) <TABLE BORDER CELLSPACING=2 CELLPADDING=4 WIDTH=647> <TR> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> Betriebsart </TD> <TD WIDTH="16%" VALIGN="TOP"> Komponenten </TD> <TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"> 91/441/EWG
Euro 1
seit 1992/93 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 94/12/EG
Euro 2
ab 1996/97 </TD> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP">

EU-Rat u. Parlament:
(Euro 3)
ab 2000 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> Vorschlag
(Euro 4)
ab 2005 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> Otto (Benzin) </TD> <TD WIDTH="16%" VALIGN="TOP"> CO </TD> <TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"> 3,16 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 2,2 </TD> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> 2,3 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 1,0 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"></TD> <TD WIDTH="16%" VALIGN="TOP"> CH </TD> <TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"> 1,13 als </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,341 </TD> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,2 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,1 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"></TD> <TD WIDTH="16%" VALIGN="TOP"> NOx </TD> <TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"> Summe CH+NOx </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,252 </TD> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,15 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,08 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> Diesel </TD> <TD WIDTH="16%" VALIGN="TOP"> CO </TD> <TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"> 3,16 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 1,0 </TD> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,64 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,50 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"></TD> <TD WIDTH="16%" VALIGN="TOP"> CH + NOx </TD> <TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"> 1,13 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,71 (0,91*) </TD> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,56 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,30 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"></TD> <TD WIDTH="16%" VALIGN="TOP"> NOx </TD> <TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"> -- </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,63 (0,81*) </TD> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,50 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,25 </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"></TD> <TD WIDTH="16%" VALIGN="TOP"> Partikel </TD> <TD WIDTH="20%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,18 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,08 (0,10*) </TD> <TD WIDTH="17%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,05 </TD> <TD WIDTH="15%" VALIGN="TOP"> 0,025 </TD> </TR> </TABLE> *) Pkw mit Direkteinspritzmotoren Für neuzugelassene Ottomotor-Pkw sind ab dem Jahr 2000 On-Board-Diagnose-Systeme verpflichtend, die die Funktion der Abgasreinigungsvorrichtungen gewährleisten. Für neuzugelassene Diesel-Pkw gilt diese Vorschrift ab 2003.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Engine makers can reach that target through several technologies (and presumably a combination of them): 4-Valves, catalytic converters, particle traps. But most of all they need sulfurfree (<10 ppm) diesel.

Peugeot posted news that their upcoming big limousine, the 607 will make the Euro4 level thanks to a particle trap. VW said they chose to do it the other way round: instead of filtering mediocre exhaust gases, they want to produce adequate numbers without the need for a particle trap (at least in the lesser cars). Well, VW took a beating for this standpoint. But still up to now they are the only manufacturer to have a Euro4 car ready.

Now things get interesting: While the general public (and Greenpeace for that matter) loves to beat VW, they might be able to convert their whole range soon to Euro4 level. If they´d make this on time, it would be a slap in the face of all giving negative comments about VW´s commitment towards cleaner emissions.

They have a plan with several steps to achieve that goal:
1) Improving internal combustion
2) Utilizing higher pressures of a 2nd generation PD system (up to 30% more pressure (2600 bar ?) under light load)
3) 4-Valve-technology.
Steps 1-3 might be enough up to the level of Passats with manual gearbox

With the upcoming larger engines and cars (think of V8 and V10) are
4) NO2-catalyst and an
5) particle filter afterwards.

This VW-particle filter works a little bit different to the particle filter Peugeot presented: With common particle filters, the filter gets clogged with time and has to be burned free of soot by raising the exhaust gas temps over 500 deg. Celsius. This leads to higher fuel consumption.

The NO2-catalyst transforms NO to NO2 which is used in the particle filter to burn the soot continously at a temperature of 300 deg. Celsius. This "active CRT-system" (CRT = Continous Regeneration Trap) very seldom needs to burn excessive soot by raising the temperature, too. This usually happens only with standard diesel, not with the sulfurfree diesel.

For the biggest, baddest diesels there is even more technology need to lift them to better levels of emission control: The
6) NOx-converter. This catalytic converter needs sulfurfree diesel to work and not becoming useless because of sulfur-poisoning.

Here is a schematic picture of the whole emission control system of the future:

------------------
´92 VW Polo G40 - 1272ccm / 113bhp
´97 Audi A6 Avant 2.5 TDI - 2461ccm / 140bhp Ad: "Why settle for moving with the times, when you can overtake them ?"
HP: http://www.planet-interkom.de/CFriedriszik

CFriedriszik · Oct 1, 2000

Skypup, can you check that chemistry-babble for errors ?
I got this information throught the latest issue of "Gute Fahrt" and they might have printed something wrong ...

SkyPup · Oct 1, 2000

Thanks Claus, I'll spend some time on it tomorrow as short of time at the moment.

Gary Miyakawa · Oct 1, 2000

I believe this article is also in the latest issue of Diesel Car..

cars wanted · Oct 1, 2000

I also heard mention recently of a Euro-5 standard, to be implemented by 2008. Does that standard apply to diesel passenger cars too? And how much stricter is it than the upcoming Euro-4 standard? Finally, what differences are there between Euro-4 standards and the upcoming Tier-2 (from 2007 or 2008 onward) emission standards in the U.S.A.? In other words, are U.S.A. Tier-2 standards in fact so unrealistic that they cannot be met by future TDIs?
Finally, what does "soon" mean in this context? If it were VWoA handling it, "soon" might in fact mean 2004 or 2005 when everyone must meet these standards anyway.

After all, VWoA promised Golf TDIs for us in North America for 1996. Finally we were allowed to buy the first Golf TDIs sometime during 1999. "Soon" means different things to different people. For me, "soon" is when I will eat my supper!

[This message has been edited by cars wanted (edited October 01, 2000).]

CFriedriszik · Oct 1, 2000

- If you look on the chart, they reduce the allowed particle emission by 50% each step. I therefore guess Euro5 wil be 0,0125.
- I don´t know about any of the Tier regulations. Do you have any chart lying around that summarizes them in any way to compare them ? Open a new topic here and let´s discuss the differences.
- As I said in several posts about the "soon out" 150hp, I do not believe in VW promising anything soon, but we might be lucky here because it´s not about customers waiting, but about rivalry between engineers (Peugeot !) and about who is the first one out with some cars/a complete range. Therefore I expect the first ones in 2001 and all in 2003 ...

SkyPup · Oct 2, 2000

I am not sure how an NOx trap functions, I don't believe it is through oxidation, rather I would imagine it is through reduction, ie binding to the core. This would mean that the particulate trap and the NOx trap would have a limited lifetime and require replacement after a certain period of time.

SkyPup · Oct 3, 2000

Claus, i emailed you a PDF which describees the process and how reliant it is on the quality of the diesel fuel supply. It shows that indeed there are NOx oxidation regeneration catalytic convertors as well as particulate traps all of which can meet EURO IV levels as long as the fuel is LOW in SULPHUR and HIGH in CETANE.

One thing Ric Woodruff will never understand for certain!

VW plans to switch whole range to Euro4 soon

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