ON THE REEL SIDE OF THINGS
The EPA’s New Tier 4 Emission Standards and What It Means to You
N
ow that you’ve all glazed over, perhaps I should have standards reflects this reality, which will ensure both engine chosen a title with more of a hook like “Save Money manufacturers and equipment manufacturers are able Now! Ask Me How!” but that is reminiscent of a cheesy, “make to provide new, clean non-road machines to end-users on money from home” poster commonly found plastered inside schedule. a bus shelter. Let’s face it, the United States’ Environmental The Tier 4 specification was first applied to industries Protection Agency’s new Tier 4 Emission Standards is simply with large on-road vehicles such as semi trailers and other a title to some legislation. Enacted by our neighbour to the diesel powered trucks and followed shortly thereafter by south, it’s a legislation most of us haven’t even heard of yet large off-road equipment categories such as agricultural and and, on the surface, sounds like a good idea. After all, who is construction equipment. In each case, vehicles or equipment opposed to cleaner air? Now to be honest, while I was aware with diesel engines greater than 75 horsepower were of the impending regulations, I had given precious little required to comply by specified dates. In the turf industry, consideration to the ramifications for us here in Ontario until most of the commercially available diesel powered products just recently. During a conversation with Barry Cochrane, are in the 25 to 74 hp range and the Tier 4 mandate requires General Sales Manager Canada for The Toro Company, compliance for any products produced in this horsepower he enlightened me to the lack of category by January 1, 2013. awareness that exists within our What are our turf equipment industry and to the sticker shock an manufacturers doing to comply In the turf industry, most of the unprepared superintendent could with the new regulations? Firstly, commercially available diesel powered be in for when the new standards Tier 4 Standards are not new and come into effect in January of 2013. they have all been working on products are in the 25 to 74 hp range The USA’s EPA has adopted a compliance ready solutions for years and the Tier 4 mandate requires comprehensive national program to now. Some companies, John Deere compliance for any products produced for example, already manufacture reduce emissions from future nonroad diesel engines by integrating equipment in their agriculture and in this horsepower category engine and fuel controls as a construction divisions which have by January 1, 2013. system to gain the greatest emission been subject to similar emission reductions. To meet these emission requirements and have the standards, engine manufacturers advantage of being able to learn will have to produce new engines with advanced emission from engineering efforts that have already occurred. Rest control technologies similar to those already in place for easy though, each manufacturer has had their design brain highway trucks and buses. Harmful exhaust emissions from trusts working on this and I have been assured they will all these engines will decrease by more than 90 percent and be ready with Tier 4 compliant offerings for you come 2013. because the emission-control devices can be damaged by According to Mike Koppen, Manager of Golf Equipment sulfur, they have also mandated a decrease in the allowable Product Marketing for John Deere’s Agriculture and Turf level of sulfur in non-road diesel fuel by more than 99 Division in Raleigh, North Carolina, one solution is to utilize percent. a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system. To summarize, These reductions in NOx (nitrogen oxides) and PM the SCR system raises the combustion temperature in the (particulate matter) emissions from non-road diesel engine resulting in a cleaner and more efficient burn thus engines will provide enormous public health benefits. The creating less particulate matter, however, this also results in EPA estimates that by 2030, controlling these emissions the creation of more oxides of nitrogen which still need to would annually prevent 12,000 premature deaths, be removed. This is accomplished by the introduction of 8,900 hospitalizations, and one million lost work days. a catalyst (in this case urea) into the exhaust stream. The Approximately 50 companies manufacture non-road diesel combination of the exhaust gasses and the urea breaks down engines worldwide. Many companies involved in the nonthese oxides of nitrogen into nitrogen gas and water vapor road diesel industry are not “vertically integrated” – that which is expelled through the exhaust pipe. The obvious is, they do not produce both engines and the equipment caveat to this system is the need for the operator to add the the engines are used in. The implementation of the Tier 4 catalyst at regular intervals to the system. In my view it’s a
30 Green is Beautiful • Winter 2012