Catching the next bus

The IOC Mathura refinery has committed itself to supplying 10,000 metric tonnes of ultra low sulphur diesel to DTC buses in a sustained manner. Even though IOC, the leading public sector oil company, has taken theinitiative in supplying diesel that meets Euro-II norms, the 1 per cent sulphur content diesel supplied to other parts of the country is far from what Euro-I emission norms permit. Euro-II norms, incidentally, comes into effect for all vehicles in the National Capital Region by April 1, 2000. Other metros, like Mumbai, get diesel with 0.25 per cent sulphur content, while according to Euro-I norms the sulphur content should be 0.20 per cent.

Since the Bureau of Indian Standards specifications for diesel for the year 2000 is 0.1 per cent diesel for the entire country, the refineries will have to clean up their act, and fast.

But why is sulphur in diesel so harmful? Well, it gives rise to particulate emissions which include unburnt hydrocarbons and sulphate. These chemical compounds are not only carcinogenic but can also impair vision and cause chronic lung problems. No wonder then that these emissions have raised the hackles of the environmentalists.

The benefits of reduced sulphur in diesel areundisputed. Preliminary data from some studies show that bringing the diesel fuel sulphur level from 2 per cent to 0.5 per cent, reduces overall particulate matter from light duty diesel vehicles by 2.4 per cent and from heavy duty diesel vehicles by 13 per cent.

But IOC seems to be confident of supplying 0.05 per cent sulphur diesel to the whole nation before April 2000. According to an IOC official, the PSU has already set up diesel hydro desulphurisation DHDS units at four of its refineries 8212; Gujarat, Panipat, Haldia and Mathura 8212; at the cost of Rs 1,776 crore to produce 0.25 per cent sulphur diesel.

8220;Most refineries in India were set up in the sixties and are not designed to meet the new emission norms,8221; the official said, adding that the refineries have had to upgrade themselves for the new norms at a very fast pace. Therefore the IOC has placed an order worth Rs 176 crore for adding reactors to the DHDS units that would hold catalytic reactions to lower the sulphur content from 0.25 to 0.05per cent. At the national level, Rs 5,600 has already been spent to bring the sulphur content down to 0.25 per cent.

The total investment envisaged by the Centre for High Technology for implementing various projects in public sector refineries to upgrade fuel quality comes to around Rs 13,500 crore Rs 3,500 for gasoline and Rs 10,000 crore for diesel. This figure may go up substantially if Indian fuel quality has to be brought in line with Euro III and Euro IV norms. For Euro III norms, the sulphur content in diesel should be 0.035 per cent, whereas for Euro IV, it must be 0.05.

But taking care of the fuel is only one part of the problem. There are other headaches, too, that need to be addressed. Take the diesel engine technology used in most buses, which dates back to at least three decades in the case of the big bus manufacturers like Telco and Ashok Leyland. In order to meet Euro-II norms, these buses will have to be totally re-engineered.

According to Sudhir Singhal, Mathew Abraham, S.K, Singal ofthe Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, who presented a joint paper at a Delhi conference recently, in order to meet Euro-II emission norms diesel engines must be turbo-charged, among other design changes.

According to M. Natraj, executive director, Product Development, Ashok Leyland, the cost of making buses and trucks Euro-II compliant is quite considerable. Natraj puts the cost of producing such a bus/truck chassis as 8220;double8221; that of buses belonging to the 1992-96 genre.

It is for this reason that manufacturers like Leyland and Telco find it more expedient to concentrate on promoting their buses that run on Compressed Natural Gas CNG. This fuel has been used in a number of vehicles in cities like Mumbai, Surat, Baroda and Delhi. Four CNG buses were recently introduced in the Capital by Ashok Leyland.

There were initial reports of overheating in these bus. Natraj, however, claims that the problem has been taken care of. 8220;The overheating was occurring due to improper ventilation and we8217;vetaken care to address this,8221; he said.

Telco has grabbed the initial order of 10 CNG buses for DTC. While Ashok Leyland is expecting an order for around 400 to 500 CNG buses from the same corporation, Telco is expecting to supply around the same number of buses too in the long run.

But before CNG buses arrive in a big way, a regular supply of CNG will have to be ensured. Delhi is already working towards this with 80 refuelling stations expected to come up by next year.

With the April 1, 2000 deadline for the Indian version of Euro-II norms round the corner, manufacturers have only two choices before them. They will have to either junk their old technology for diesel buses and bring in contemporary technology or go for alternate fuels like CNG. They have no other choice.