India seen more 'receptive' to ULSD/PM filters, CNG monopoly mandate schemes seen faltering

Diesel Fuel News, Jan 21, 2002 by Jack Peckham

While India's Supreme Court continues to press for conversion of public transport buses in Delhi from diesel to "clean" compressed natural gas (CNG), there's a "growing awareness" that clean-diesel technology can be an effective (and less costly) alternative to cleaning up air pollution in India.

Among the CNG problems: A 50% shortfall in supply of natural gas to match the CNG vehicle introductions, slow and costly CNG vehicle and refueling station conversions, deadly CNG tank explosions and CNG vehicle fires that have increased in recent months.

So, Diesel Fuel News asked Indian Oil Co. official G.K. Sharma about the potential prospects for ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) combined with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) as one alternative to CNG. Sharma presented an overview on Indian fuel quality at a recent clean-fuel policy briefing sponsored by Hart Publications and the International Fuel Quality Center, in Madrid, Spain.

Ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) "in combination with particulate traps is a good solution and local heavy-duty engine builders have evaluated such fuels and candidate particulate traps," Sharma told Diesel Fuel News.

"However, so far these evaluations are only at the level of technical feasibility as no concrete commercial steps are yet visible. There is a multi-organization supported pilot-scale study under consideration to demonstrate ULSD plus PM trap in Delhi, but it is yet to take-off.

"It is my considered view that although the marketplace is receptive for ULSD, local refineries will have longer time-slates unless someone sees the opportunity to import and seed the market in metro cities as the petroleum sector goes to an open [free-market] economy in 2002."

Today, refiners lack concrete commercial plans to produce ULSD (below 50 ppm sulfur) "not even for major cities in the short-term, primarily because of limitations with current refinery schemes and the associated issue of investments needed," he added.

Diesel consumption is about seven times that of gasoline in India today, Sharma showed at the Hart/IFQC conference. Last year, highway diesel consumption in India was 42 million tons, versus 6.5 million tons of gasoline.

* $7 Billion Cost For Cleaner Diesel Standard Seen

A recent Indian study shows that processing 113 million tons/year of crude to make 500 ppm sulfur diesel nationwide in 2005 (down from 2,500 ppm sulfur today) would require an industry-wide investment of about $7.3 billion. Part of this cost would also cover boosting cetane to 50 (from 48), cutting density to 855 (from 870), cutting T95 to 360[degrees]C (From 370), and cutting polycyclic aromatics maximum to 10% (from 15%).

Meantime, fuel quality improvements as proposed in a recent study by Central Pollution Control Board -- and now under discussion between industry, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and the Mashelkar inter-ministerial task force -- eventually could lead to a ULSD standard of 50 ppm by around 2010, then a 5-10 ppm sulfur limit by around 2015, matching European/U.S./Japan standards later this decade. These discussions also are considering cetane boost to 53, then 55; diesel density cuts to 830; T95 to 340; and polycyclic aromatics to 3% in 2010, and possibly 1% by 2015.

Until recently, diesel desulfurization has moved slowly in India, to 2,500 ppm nationwide in 1999, then to 500 ppm in major metro areas, down from 10,000 ppm in 1996.

Likewise, heavy-duty diesel vehicle emission standards in India today lag the latest Euro standards (instead roughly equivalent to Euro Union 1996 standards).

Even compared to Euro '96 limits, India's heavy-duty PM emissions limits are twice as high (0.36 g/kW-hr, versus 0.15 g/kW-hr in Europe and 0.13 g/kW-hr in U.S).

Meantime, elsewhere on the clean-fuels front in India:

* "The road to CNG hits a dead end," the Times of India reported in reaction to Mashelkar inter-ministerial task force report now embraced by India's central government. But the pro-CNG "green" group, Centre for Science & Environment, (CSE) denounced the ministerial report as "weak and uncaring about public health objectives," as reported by One World South Asia.

* Delhi state government is temporarily scrapping plans to phase-out private diesel buses due to transport chaos when 3,000 buses were ordered out of service, without CNG replacement available, according to a Gulf News report. Earlier, a state transport authority cancelled special permits for a bus operator in Delhi for illegally continuing to run diesel buses in addition to 400 CNG buses. Meantime, the government is reviewing a related plan to phase-out 9,000 private diesel buses, due to massive transport shortages caused by the CNG mandate.

* Hyderabad lacks gas supply to serve a proposed 2,600-unit CNG bus fleet and lacks funds for diesel to-CNG conversion, the Times said.

* Mumbai likewise lacks sufficient CNG refueling facilities and so is contesting a lawsuit brought by "green" groups trying to force CNG conversions. Instead, the local transit agency favors (for near-term) purchase of Euro-1 diesel buses that would cut emissions 50%