U.S. EPA on Nov. 29 issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) that would, if adopted, require ocean ships with big “Category 3” diesel engines operating near pollution-sensitive ports to convert to a maximum 0.1% sulfur (1,000-ppm) gasoil/diesel fuel rather than the high-sulfur bunker residual fuel typically used today.

The proposal is “largely based on a proposal submitted by the U.S. government to the 11th meeting of the Subcommittee on Bulk Liquids and Gases at the International Maritime Organization [IMO] held in April 2007,” EPA said.

Dear Readers: Diesel Fuel News is published 24 times/year, and this issue (Dec. 3) is our 24th edition.

While we’re on annual December holidays now, we will nevertheless send out timely bulletins this month for any major breaking news.

The European Parliament Environment Committee on Nov. 27 voted to approve legislation accelerating 10-ppm sulfur ULSD limits for non-road vehicles and inland vessels to Dec. 31, 2009 rather than the Dec. 31, 2011 deadline proposed by the European Commission.

Honeywell’s UOP division last week announced that Portugal’s largest refiner, Galp Energia, will use the UOP/Eni “Ecofining” technology to produce “green diesel” fuel from vegetable oils in a new hydroprocessing unit.

Galp follows in the footsteps of Eni, which co-developed the technology with UOP. Eni is installing an “Ecofining” unit at its facility in Livorno, Italy.

Colombia’s government announced this week that state-owned Ecopetrol has agreed to convert the entire nation’s diesel supply to 50-ppm sulfur ULSD standards by 2013.

Public transport buses in Colombia’s major cities will get the ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuel three years early, in 2010, as suggested in legislation that passed the House of Representatives only days earlier (see Diesel Fuel News 11/19/07).

U.S. diesel fuel retailers are indeed improving their compliance with both labeling and content of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuel, the latest retail survey for U.S. EPA shows.

Chicago – U.S. EPA found in an updated investigation and re-examination of earlier studies that biodiesel does indeed cause higher nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, especially as engine load increases.

NOx is by far the toughest emission to control from a diesel engine, hence the news on biodiesel looks especially bad.

While Cummins has decided against using urea-selective catalytic reduction (SCR) for “interim” U.S. EPA Tier-4 non-road diesel emissions limits starting in 2011, it’s possible that SCR might make a comeback for “final” Tier 4 limits three years later.

That’s what Cummins global off-highway communications director Kevan Browne explained.

Having earlier been slammed by Brasilian state governments for “tardy” introduction of ULSD fuel (see Diesel Fuel News 11/5/07), Petrobras last week confirmed that it will offer limited amounts of 50-ppm sulfur diesel (Euro-4 ULSD) in major cities by early 2009.