It’ s not easy being a diesel driver in today’ s world. Between clogged diesel particulate filters( DPFs), stricter EU directives and the highly publicised Paris agreement on climate change, the future of diesel looks bleak. Here, Mark Burnett, VP of the Lubricants and Fuel Additives Innovation Platform at NCH Europe, explains how using additives can make existing diesel technology less damaging to the environment.

If you’ re a diesel driver, you will most likely have heard the horror stories of failed DPFs. One minute you’ re driving down the road in a perfectly well-maintained car and the next minute your car has gone into limp mode, leaving you with limited electronics and only one usable gear with which to get to the nearest service centre.

In the worst cases, drivers have reported screeching noises coming

from the DPF shortly followed by plumes of smoke from the exhaust and an explosion of soot over the engine bay.

Despite the potential hassle, DPFs play an important role in capturing harmful particulate matter( PM), or soot, and oxidising it to prevent the car from polluting the air with high levels of noxious emissions.

The latest Euro six standard, introduced in September 2015, sets limits on the amount of permitted emissions, including nitrogen oxide( NOx), carbon monoxide( CO), hydrocarbons and particulate matter.

Although it’ s great that the UK is taking these steps— the latest figures from the UK’ s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs( DEFRA) show an overall decline in air pollution— there is not much benefit in acting alone. Cue, the Paris accord.

Designed to tackle the wayward direction of global climate change for the next hundred years, the Paris agreement is a deal struck between nearly 200 countries.

The key elements of the agreement include: keeping global temperatures well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times, limiting greenhouse gases emitted by human activity, reviewing each country’ s contribution every five years and rich countries helping poorer countries switch to renewable energy. It’ s a historic step, and one that means 2017 could have signalled the beginning of the end for diesel technology.

For many people, however, this change cannot come soon enough. For years, there has been a perception that diesel vehicles are more environmentally-friendly than their petrol counterparts, when this simply isn’ t the case.

Diesel cars actually produce just as much carbon dioxide as petrol and more noxious emissions.

The problem is that drivers, fleet managers and original equipment manufacturers( OEMs) in the industrial sectors have already invested heavily in diesel and it will take time to transition to cleaner alternatives.

Rather than wait for the change, OEMs in particular can do more to make their existing diesel vehicles less damaging to the environment by using fuel additives. Additives have historically been shunned because some actually reduced fuel economy instead of improving it and customers would have been better off using a more premium fuel instead.

Where additives do work is for specific tasks such as unclogging injectors, cleaning the fuel and, crucially, improving DPF performance

. NCH Europe’ s DPF Protect additive, for example, reduces the temperature at which the DPF burns soot, from 550 degrees to 400 degrees Celsius.

Instead of waiting for the engine to get up to temperature— something that usually requires the vehicle to be driven at speeds of over 40mph for over ten minutes— the additive triggers the regenerative process by lowering the temperature at which the DPF activates, lowering the amount of dangerous particulate matter emitted into the air.

While it will still take many years for technology and legislation to bring about an overwhelming improvement in climate change, there is still more we can do in the here and now to make existing diesel technology cleaner.

www. ncheurope. com / en

As the cold snap continues and temperatures are once again expected to plummet, drivers have been given simple tips and tricks to stay safe despite the ice on cars and roads. Motoring giant Leasecar. uk issued guidance for motorists on how not to be defeated by ice, and to stay safe when driving in frosty conditions.

Checking tyre tread, being smart with de-icing and de-misting windscreens and knowing which gear to drive in will help motorists to stay safe in icy conditions.

The team at Leasecar. uk advised drivers to heat their cars up slowly to prevent the windscreen misting on the inside, and explained how to make simple de-icing sprays by mixing water with salt, alcohol or white vinegar.

Motorists can also create makeshift frost guards out of blankets or towels, especially if they are soaked in salt water and laid over the windscreen the night before.

Drivers should also keep to slow speeds in high gears to retain as much control of the car as possible – you may even find it better to start off in second gear.

If you skid, come off the gas, do not brake and steer into the direction of the skid in order to straighten up the car.

It is also advisable to stay on main roads as they are more likely to be treated or used well enough to have melted ice – or even simply avoid the journey altogether where possible.

Tim Alcock of Leasecar. uk said:“ Driving in icy conditions is never fun, so don’ t make it any harder than it has to be.

“ Use our tips to stay safe on icy roads and keep the miserable business of de-icing and de-misting windscreens to a minimum.

“ Always be prepared for a breakdown; make sure you’ ve got your breakdown assistance details to hand, and that you have warm clothes and a torch in the car.”

Dos and don’ ts for driving in icy conditions

Do

• Check the inflation and tread of your tyres – the legal minimum is 1.6mm but experts say it should be at least 3mm to be as safe as possible.

• Make sure your lights, mirrors and number plates are clear as well as all your windows( you are legally required to be able to see out of all your windows)

• Remove any snow on the roof that might fall and obstruct your view as you drive.

• Drive slowly in as high a gear as possible

• Allow greater stopping distances

• Keep your oil, screen wash and fuel levels up.

Don’ t

• Drive if you don’ t have to; if the road is icy and the journey isn’ t necessary, just don’ t do it.

• Pour boiling water on your windscreen to de-ice it – it’ s a great way to crack it. You can make effective de-icing sprays by mixing salt and water, or even two parts alcohol to one part water, or three parts white vinegar to one-part water.

• Brake or accelerate quickly.

• Start the blower on hot to demist the windscreen. This actually causes mist by heating up air that then cools and condenses on the windscreen. Start the heater on cold and slowly turn it up as the air gets drier. You can even use air con along with the heater.

• Use anything but a proper window scraper to de-ice the car – you could damage the windows and windscreen and break whatever it is you’ re using.