Cummins engine receives EPA certification to October 2002 standard

2 April 2002

Cummins Inc. announced that its new ISX engine—the first of the on-highway engines slated for the October 2002 emission standard—has been certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the 2.5 g/bhp-hr NOx+NMHC standard. The engine uses cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) as the main NOx control technology.

In 1998, a group of manufacturers of heavy-duty diesel engines, including Cummins, signed a consent decree with the EPA and Department of Justice. At that time, engine manufacturers made a commitment to meet the 2004 January 2.5 g/bhp-hr NOx+NMHC standards by October 2002, as part of a “pull-ahead provision”.

On 17 April 2001, Cummins became the first US heavy-duty engine manufacturer to publicly confirm its commitment to EPA officials to meet the October 2002 emissions requirements. Cummins first began field test of the ISX engine in December 1999 and will have accumulated over 6 million miles of on-highway vehicle field-testing and 115,000 hours of laboratory tests by October.

In issuing the certification, the EPA also affirmed the use of Auxiliary Emissions Control Devices (AECD) as submitted by Cummins. AECDs include a number of engine control strategies which, for example, may temporarily modulate, reduce or eliminate EGR flow in order to control smoke emissions or to prevent acid condensation in the EGR cooler. AECDs are permitted by law when limited engine protection is necessary under certain operating conditions. AECDs are used in today’s engines throughout the industry, and are approved as part of the EPA regulations and certification process.

Information on the new, October 2002 certified engines is available from Cummins new web site at www.tougheststandards.cummins.com.

Source: Cummins