Ten million mile lubricant field test with low sulfur diesel fuel

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:7268928

Cherry, W R; Boone, E F ^[1]; Fetterman, Jr, G P ^[2]

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1. Sun Co., Inc., Marcus Hook, PA (United States)
2. Exxon Chemical Co., Linden, NJ (United States)

A paper presented in 1992 documented interim results of a field test designed to study the effects of using low sulfur diesel fuel with two different oils in commercial service. This field test evaluated a premium commercial API CF-4/SG oil with 1 mass % sulfated ash, and a lubricating oil with 0.5 mass % sulfated ash in field service with both the then current regular sulfur diesel (0.25 mass % sulfur) and low sulfur (less than 0.05 mass % sulfur) diesel fuel. In the two years since that status report, the engine manufacturers and oil industry have made data available which indicate that some types of oil chemistry show an adverse reaction to the use of low sulfur diesel fuel. This loss of performance is marked by an increase in piston top groove fill and top land heavy carbon. Not all types of oil chemistry have shown this sensitivity. This paper is a follow-up to the 1992 paper, and presents a final report on the field test, which now encompasses a used oil data base covering 16,000,000 km (10,000,000 miles) of commercial experience and with both regular and low sulfur diesel fuel. Trucks operating on all four combinations of fuel sulfur and oil technology showed excellent field performance, with indicated oil economy for the fleet exceeding 4,000 km/l at engine lives approaching or exceeding 1,000,000 km (600,000 mi). It would appear that the optimum oil for piston deposit control with either regular or low sulfur diesel fuel was the premium commercial API CF-4/SG oil with 1 mass % sulfated ash. As one looks to the future, when exhaust catalysts or traps may be required, the 0.5 mass % sulfated ash lubricant offers the potential of enhanced after treatment life with acceptable deposit and wear control with either regular or low sulfur diesel fuel, which is now common-place.

• OSTI ID: 7268928
• Report Number(s): CONF-9403125--
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
025000 -- Petroleum-- Combustion
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS
330102* -- Internal Combustion Engines-- Diesel
ANTIKNOCK RATINGS
ASH CONTENT
COMPATIBILITY
DATA
DIESEL ENGINES
DIESEL FUELS
DISTILLATES
ENERGY SOURCES
ENGINES
EXHAUST GASES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GAS ANALYSIS
GAS OILS
GASEOUS WASTES
GASES
HEAT ENGINES
INFORMATION
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
LIQUID FUELS
LUBRICANTS
LUBRICATING OILS
NUMERICAL DATA
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PERFORMANCE TESTING
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DISTILLATES
PETROLEUM FRACTIONS
PETROLEUM PRODUCTS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SULFUR CONTENT
TESTING
WASTES
WEAR