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General information
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Description
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The characteristics of diesel combustion can be modified by subjoining additives to the fuel or motor oil. This may improve fuel economy and/or reduce pollution. Additives to motor oil are supposed to improve fuel economy due to reduced interior engine friction and improved sealing of pistons in cylinder. There are different products available on the market including Energie release, Metabond and Friction Wedge. Additives to diesel fuel mainly aim at emission control. Some suppliers however do claim an improved fuel economy as well. Water-diesel emulsions are not discussed here since they reduce NOx emission but are not known to improve fuel economy. Fields of application: Additives are currently applied in the automotive sector. In principle, a transfer to railways seems feasible. |
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General criteria
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Status of development: research & experiments |
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Additives can in principle be applied on railway vehicles. Experiences however cannot be directly transferred to railways because of higher engine power. |
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Time horizon for broad application: in < 2 years |
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(no details available) |
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Expected technological development: (no data) |
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(no details available) |
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Motivation:
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Emission control and fuel economy. Possibly reduction of engine wear in some cases. |
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Benefits (other than environmental): small |
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Reduced engine wear |
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Barriers: medium |
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Tests and analysis at DB AG showed serious discrepancies between the
effects claimed by manufacturers and real performance of motor oil additives.
Some motor oil additives (especially Energie Release) contain chlorine which
improves engine lubrication, but poses serious waste problems since the old oil
would have to be considered as hazardous waste. German DB AG therefore ruled out
the use of Energie Release. |
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Success factors:
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(no details available) |
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Applicability for railway segments: medium |
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Type of traction: diesel
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Type of transportation: passenger - main lines, passenger - regional lines, passenger - suburban lines, freight
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Diesel fleet. |
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Grade of diffusion into railway markets:
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Diffusion into relevant segment of fleet: 0 % |
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Share of newly purchased stock: not applicable |
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No in-service use in railway sector known. |
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Market potential (railways): medium |
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If railways decided on a fleet-wide use, market potential would be considerable (entire diesel fleet). |
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Example:
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No in-service use in railways known. |
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Environmental criteria
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Impacts on energy efficiency:
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Energy efficiency potential for single vehicle: < 2% |
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Energy efficiency potential throughout fleet: < 1% |
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Some suppliers of motor oil additives claim considerable reductions in
fuel consumption:
Energie Release: 15%
Friction Wedge: at least 5%
Tests at DB AG however couldn’t establish any relation between the use of
additives and diesel consumption.
According to diesel suppliers, some fuel additives may reduce fuel
consumption by up to 3 %, but no details are given. In general substantial
effects on fuel economy are doubtful. |
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Other environmental impacts: negative |
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Some additives contain chlorine which poses serious problems on waste disposal since it converts oil into hazardous waste. This is true for Energie Release and could also be the case for Metabond. |
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Economic criteria
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Vehicle - fix costs: none |
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(no details available) |
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Vehicle - running costs: (no data) |
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Reduced if fuel economy is improved. |
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Infrastructure - fix costs: none |
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Additional infrastructure for supplying additives should be close to negligible. |
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Infrastructure - running costs: unchanged |
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(no details available) |
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Scale effects: low |
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If additives can be directly transferred from automotive sector to railways, additional scale effects from railway market are rather small. |
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Amortisation: (no data) |
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(no details available) |
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Application outside railway sector
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Status of development outside railway sector: in use |
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(no details available) |
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Time horizon for broad application outside railway sector: (no data) |
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(no details available) |
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Expected technological development outside railway sector: (no data) |
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(no details available) |
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Market potential outside railway sector: (no data) |
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(no details available) |
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Overall rating
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Overall potential: not promising |
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Time horizon: (no data) |
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In view of doubtful efficiency gains and hazardous waste issues, additives presently do not seem promising for energy efficiency. |
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date created: 2002-10-04
