Truck Stop Operator Rolls Out Plan for National Distribution of Clean Exhaust Fluid

Truck Stop Operator Rolls Out Plan for National Distribution of Clean Exhaust Fluid

By John O'Dell July 17, 2009

Beginning a nationwide roll-out of the diesel big-rig emissions cleanup demanded under federal emissions rules for 2010, the nation's largest operator of travel centers said it will install  "at the pump"  diesel exhaust fluid dispensers in 100 of its locations.

Pilot Travel Centers, which operates or franchises more than 350 locations, said it also will sell the fluid, a mixture of purified water and urea, in containers at the remaining "travel centers" (they used to be called truck stops).

It is the same stuff that Mercedes-Benz diesel passenger car owners know as AdBlue.

The fluid, known generically as DEF, is stored in a separate tank on board a diesel truck and is sprayed directly into the exhaust stream to chemically neutralize about 90 percent of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions.

It also helps increase fuel economy, reducing the big trucks' overall per-trip output of emissions including CO2, one of the principal greenhouse gases linked to global warming.

Pilot, based in Knoxville, Tenn., says it is the first travel center operator to commit to installing pumps on the fueling islands to dispense the fluid directly into its storage tank while a truck is being filled with diesel fuel.

The convenience of on-the-island pumps is likely to increase voluntary use of the fluid by eliminating the need for a driver to carry jugs of DEF or to lug containers of it from the truck stop convenience store back out to the truck.

The typical big-rig, or Class 8 truck, carries from 300 to 350 gallons of diesel fuel and would require six to seven gallons of DEF per fill-up, although most trucks will come equipped with 20-gallon DEF tanks, suitable for almost two cross-country trips.

The DEF pumps also can be used by private motorists driving diesel RVs and other diesel vehicles, such as heavy duty pickups, with driver-accessible urea tanks.

Pilot said it will install 25 DEF pumps a quarter throughout the second quarter of 2010, and that the maximum distance between any two pumps will be within the range of the average Class 8 truck.

DEF injection - also called selective catalytic reduction, or SCR - is one of three systems available that will allow large diesel trucks to meet 2010 emissions standards.

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.