Is VW diesel currently available in the US?

[EnumaElish]

Does anyone know the answer?

I have read about Passat (and Touareg) 2004 but the article said they were going to be discontinued in 2005. Has that happened?

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/reviews/healey/2004-06-10-vw-tdi_x.htm

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

My girl wants the diesel Jetta and she says it doesn't come out till next winter.

 

[Dr Transport]

My girl wants the diesel Jetta and she says it doesn't come out till next winter.

A friend of mine has one, I do not know how old it it though...

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

A friend of mine has one, I do not know how old it it though...

I believe my GF must be thinking of the Jetta TDI, where production starts next winter.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

My girl wants the diesel Jetta and she says it doesn't come out till next winter.

It is great to see the interest in diesel!

The Honda Civic diesel is coming out in the US soon, and Ford is working on a diesel hybrid.

 

[turbo]

Many years ago, my dad had a diesel Rabbit, and since he lived farther north than all the guys that lost their jobs when the local veneer mill closed, and they were hired by another wood-working mill, he ran the car pool and picked up everybody (3 other men) on their way to work every day. He never was much of an environmentalist (he's 82 now) but he has always been conservative and frugal.

 

[Argentum Vulpes]

Most companies are shooting for a 2009 relaunch of there lines of diesel powered cars. The last year to see a large selection of new diesel powered cars in the US was 2005. In 2006 ULSD (ultra low sulfer diesel) came out and all cars produced that year and on had to run on ULSD. Also 2006 saw the introduction of emission standards on diesel cars that are the most stringent in the world. Because of this all of the car companies had to go back to the drawing board and redesign there engines that they had in all of there cars.

As a result the only new diesel cars you see on the market is an offering form Mercedes-Benz, Jeep, and Volkswagen.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The problem is that sulfur is used as a lubricant. It has been shown under rigorous testing that using only a 2% mix of biodiesel with petro diesel is as effective as using sulfur as a lubricant. An average 2% mix is now mandated in the State of Washington.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I have the lubricity test results somewhere but didn't spot them. However, here is another reference to the information.

The ASTM D975 standards for lubricity set the maximum amount of wear on materials when tested with specific fuels or blends of fuels. The test apparatus is called a High Frequency Reciprocating Test Rig (HFRR). Both No. 1 and No. 2 diesel test results cannot exceed 460 microns of wear when tested in a HFRR.

A lower wear score indicates better lubricity. Biodiesel has been tested at varying concentrations with No. 1 and No. 2 diesel fuels. The results indicate that a 1 percent blend of biodiesel with No. 2 diesels is sufficient to reduce the HFRR micron score below the required 460 micron standard. However, a 2 percent biodiesel blend is required in No. 1 diesel to get the HFRR micron score down to 460 microns.



The National Biodiesel Board states “even low blends of biodiesel are highly effective at enhancing the lubricity of diesel fuel. The typical blend used for lubricity enhancement is 2 percent biodiesel mixed with 98 percent diesel.” Other diesel fuel lubricating additives are readily available, but are expensive if added at the manufacturers' recommended rates.[continued]

http://www.farmandranchguide.com/articles/2007/03/18/ag_news/production_news/prod20.txt

 

[brewnog]

Ivan/Argentum, we've been using ultra low suplhur diesel (<50ppm) in Europe for quite some time now, and are currently undergoing the transition to zero sulphur fuel (diesel and petrol).

The car companies had developed (very good) engines to run on this fuel many years ago. Most cars sold in Europe now are Diesels, and often outperform the equivalent petrol versions, and it's not just Jeep, Mercedes and VW who have this technology (I'm struggling to think of a production manufacturer in the European market who doesn't have a good diesel product). The technology is ready for North America, it just seems to me that North America isn't quite ready for Diesel.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We are already making the conversion. One can find a new green diesel pump at many if not most fueling stations, so the oil companies know that the conversion has begun. And throughout the US, people's heads are turning at the notion that we can produce fuel locally. I have literally had people ask if they could invest in my biofuels company almost as soon as they heard about it!

Part of the issues with sulfur here is the impact on the trucking industry.

Note that biodiesel contains no sulfur.

 

[brewnog]

We are already making the conversion. One can find a new green diesel pump at many if not most fueling stations, so the oil companies know that the conversion has begun. And throughout the US, people's heads are turning at the notion that we can produce fuel locally. I have literally had people ask if they could invest in my biofuels company almost as soon as they heard about it!

I hope the conversion happens sooner rather than later! If the US is to follow Europe in terms of Diesel popularity, the rewards to be had from starting up a small biodiesel supplier in the US will be immense.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

When we had our first meeting, one person involved who has intimate and direct knowledge of the biodiesel industry told us that the biodiesel processors in Oregon will buy every gallon of oil that we can produce; and for about twice that price that I had anticipated. Demand already exceeds the supply.

 

[brewnog]

When we had our first meeting, one person involved who has intimate and direct knowledge of the biodiesel industry told us that the biodiesel processors in Oregon will buy every gallon of oil that we can produce; and for about twice that price that I had anticipated. Demand already exceeds the supply.

Go for it; all the best.

Me and a few colleagues are looking into making a medium-sized biodiesel plant (using WVO and SVO) to cover our own use (cars and a boat) and to sell the surplus. We're all set, except for the necessary motivation required for the capital expenditure.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

What is your source of SVO? Here we are mostly sourced by soybean oil from the midwest US, and Canola oil [modified rapeseed oil] from Canada.

Our own venture seeks to produce algae oil for biodiesel production.

I heard recently from a chemist in the business that oils high in unsaturated fats burn cleaner. My understanding had been that oils high in saturated fats produce the best fuel, which is a negative for algae oils, but as it turns out the lower emissions from oils high in mono and polyunsaturated fats, which includes algae oils, are winning the day.

 

[brewnog]

Mostly rapeseed.

I was at a biodiesel conference recently. The algae production cells look absolutely stunning! If you've got the capital (and sunlight!) I'd definitely choose this if I were growing my own feedstock.

Don't have much that I can share about emissions from combustion of SVO, but I don't imagine those from the resulting biodiesel vary much with the oil used to make it.

 

[Sojourner01]

This is a fascinating line of inquiry. How does one procure, set up and maintain the algaculture apparatus?

 

[brewnog]

There's a lot of information on the interweb at the moment about it; the equipment is available for purchase.

I'll have a look through my conference bunf and try and find the name of the impressive system I saw in action.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Don't have much that I can share about emissions from combustion of SVO, but I don't imagine those from the resulting biodiesel vary much with the oil used to make it.

Oh wow! I thought you were just using the vegey oil as feedstock for biodiesel.

My understanding is that the combustion of SVO is pretty dirty compared to Bio D. Doesn't the glycerin muck things up jn the engine? Also, I don't think it can pass emission standards here. No one could publically sell this as fuel.

 

[brewnog]

Oh wow! I thought you were just using the vegey oil as feedstock for biodiesel.

My understanding is that the combustion of SVO is pretty dirty compared to Bio D. Doesn't the glycerin muck things up jn the engine? Also, I don't think it can pass emission standards here. No one could publically sell this as fuel.

SVO can be used very successfully in engines, with certain modifications. You need to make sure your filtration is up to scratch, that your fuel system is free from rubber (even more important than with biodiesel) and that you heat the fuel (actively or passively) enough to reduce the viscosity to something approaching that of Diesel.

No real reason why emissions standards can't be kept, though NOx tends to be rather high, requiring either derate and spill timing adjustment, or aftertreatment.