Businesses that depend on moving heavy things choose diesel engines for features like fuel efficiency and torque. Diesel engines excel in heavy-duty applications like pulling, towing, and transporting heavy cargo. They can maintain consistent speeds regardless of terrain and with less engine strain, extending their lifespans.
All fuel types have different advantages and disadvantages. Diesel tends to thicken in cold climates, increasing viscosity levels. Refining can reduce oil’s natural lubrication levels and introduce engine-damaging contaminants into the finished product. Thankfully, researchers are constantly working on new diesel additives to address these limitations and improve performance.
What is a Diesel Additive?
Diesel additives are substances added to diesel fuel to improve different aspects, like performance and efficiency. Additives remove contaminants and reduce moisture accumulation for increased engine life. Different types of additives can offer many benefits, including:
- Improved fuel efficiency.
- Extended engine life.
- Prevented corrosion.
- Reduced deposits.
- Enhanced water separation.
- Preventing cold-weather gelling.
Some of the most common additive types include cetane, lubricity, cleaning, and cold-flow improvers. Allegheny Petroleum’s range of diesel additives reflects its 35 years in the industry.
Cetane Additives
Cetane values fulfill the same role as octane numbers in gasoline and indicate the quality of the diesel. Higher cetane numbers indicate better fuel efficiency. Cetane improvers extend the fuel burn to consume the entire fuel molecule for more efficient combustion. Because refining reduces cetane properties, introducing an additive into the fuel can help compensate for this loss, improving performance and miles per gallon (MPG).
Diesel engines use compression rather than spark plugs to ignite fuel. Cetane additives introduce organic nitrates into the fuel for faster and more efficient ignition.
Cold Flow or Anti-Gel Additives
Diesel fuel contains paraffin wax, which solidifies at lower temperatures. Some specialized winter diesel formulations include elements to reduce the cold filter plugging point (CFPP). Still, even winterized blends may cause some solidification in extremely low temperatures.
A fuel’s cold filter plugging point (CFPP) is the temperature at which it thickens, forms wax crystals, and blocks the fuel filter. Reducing the CFPP means lowering the threshold at which the fuel turns into a gel. Levels of additives are calculated based on seasonal averages for particular regions of the world, resulting in winterized blends that can prevent solidification due to temperature drops.
Lubricating Additives
The United States has emission standards that require removing as much sulfur as possible from diesel fuel. Unfortunately, eliminating sulfur reduces the fuel’s lubrication properties. Insufficient lubrication causes fuel systems to experience higher levels of wear and tear on pumps and injectors.
Additives can increase lubrication properties, reducing friction and extending the life of fuel systems. Uneven wear can produce irregular surfaces that fail to seal correctly, creating leaks that damage fuel systems.
Detergent Additives
Detergent additives prevent deposit buildups on fuel injectors. High pressures and temperatures cause fuel to break down, producing carbon and other residues. These deposits restrict fuel flow and reduce injector performance. Detergent additives help clear combustion chambers for improved efficiency while limiting the carbon particle buildup known to block filters.
Internal diesel injector deposits (IDIDs) are gooey substances that accumulate inside injector tips, restricting performance. Since generalized additives may not be as effective at removing carbon and other deposits, experts recommend using IDID-specific cleaners to clear injector buildup. Allegheny Petroleum offers detergents and dispersants that protect engines and mitigate environmental harm.
Water Demulsifier
Diesel fuel attracts moisture that degrades performance and corrodes fuel systems over time. Diesel engines are equipped with water separators to reduce the presence of water in the fuel. Water demulsifiers are used to decrease the moisture content in the fuel further, directing it to the mechanical water separation unit. This process helps minimize corrosion and enhances engine performance.
Why Use Diesel Additives?
Diesel additives improve engine performance and reduce the wear and tear on a fuel system. They can lower CFPP to ensure operations in frigid conditions and minimize deposit buildup. Recent studies found that diesel additives:
- Improve fuel economy by an average of 6%.
- Reduce injector deposits significantly.
- Reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.
Improved fuel efficiency and less wear and tear mean fewer maintenance cycles.
Additives remove deposits and maximize burn to lower fuel emissions. They help reduce particulates for cleaner air. Enhancements to cold-flow improvers allow diesel fuel to operate at lower temperatures with less chance of gelling. Diesel additives improve performance and play a crucial role in extending the life of your engine, ensuring a long-lasting and reliable investment.
Looking Ahead: the Ongoing Evolution of Diesel Engine Additives
Over time, the modern diesel engine has improved in various ways. Engineers evaluate performance data to fine-tune their designs, while chemists produce new diesel additives that keep pace with these engine enhancements. That’s one reason the global fuel additives market is projected to reach $15.30 billion by 2032. Ongoing and upcoming regulations mandating the removal of deposits and lowering emissions will drive suppliers to formulate additives that can compensate for any performance or fuel efficiency loss due to these changes. This continuous innovation in the field of diesel additives gives us hope for a more efficient and environmentally friendly future.
Allegheny Petroleum supplies and customizes diesel engine additives. We offer diesel detergent and multi-functional packages, CFPP and lubricity additives, diesel stabilizers, and cetane improvers. Visit our website to see a comprehensive list of our diesel additives.