low sulfur vs ultra low sulfur

[rz55]

where i usually fill up with diesel has low sulfur diesel which is 500ppm but everywhere else that i have seen has the ultra low sulfur diesel that is 15ppm i believe.what would be the benefits of using the low sulfur diesel vs the ultra low?

[Stob Donkey]

Low sulfur diesel is primarily used in farm/off road equipment. If you use it in your truck you could do damage to the emissions system. Plus low sulfer fuel might be illegal to run on the highway in what ever state you live in.

[redwngr]

If you are buying the fuel in the US or Can, it is ULSD, as it is no longer legal to manufacture or supply LSD for retail.

Off-road diesel is also ULSD, for the same reason as on-road. Emissions requirements have forced use of DPF's, which of course must have USLS.

The change to usld was a staged on, so there was a period of time when both types of fuel were being manufactured/distributed.

[Hondarider552]

No one has had sellable legal LSD since 2010 in the US...


CanadaLand may, I do not know.


Even red fuel is ULSD... has been for awhile now.

[TDFDiesel]

I'm curious where you're buying fuel at too.

[Stob Donkey]

Originally Posted by Hondarider552

No one has had sellable legal LSD since 2010 in the US...


CanadaLand may, I do not know.


Even red fuel is ULSD... has been for awhile now.

Really, well I guess the 20 gallons I bought for my tractor just the other day must have been surplus. The sticker on the pump clearly states This fuel may contain >15ppm sulfur ,off road use only.

[Hondarider552]

Your right, must have been surplus. It's illegial to make 15ppm diesel and sell it as usable onroad diesel, and may be for offroad, but I can guarantee the fuel biz wont specifically sell LSD 15ppm diesel for offroad use only. Every piece of Cat equipment at my work is red fuel, but all the fuel tanks say ULSD on them..

[silver_lml]

We have a 500 gal talk on the jobsite that we fill almost once a week for equipment and fuel guys told us that everything is ulsd. The only place you might still find it is tugboats and ships. He said thats where they are sending what they have left. Make sure its good fuel because if its been sitting this long, no telling whats in it.

[FLDMAXMAN]

Guys help me understand exactly Are you guys saying the Red Off Road fuel is ULSD? If so then the only benefit to using it is saving on taxes.

[Stob Donkey]

Here's some interesting reading from Chevrons website, Note the first sentence in "The EPA requirements" section:



DIESEL FUEL DYEING IN THE U.S.
In the U.S., a confusing situation for both refiners and purchasers of diesel fuel has arisen
because the IRS and the EPA require the addition of red dye to certain classes of diesel
fuel. Each agency requires adding the dye to a different class of fuel, at a different concentration,
and for a different reason such as:
• The EPA wants to identify diesel fuel with high-sulfur content to ensure that it is not
used in on-road vehicles.
• The IRS wants to ensure that tax-exempt high-sulfur and low-sulfur diesel fuel are not
used for taxable purposes.

The EPA Requirements

U.S. EPA regulations require “visible evidence of the presence of red dye” to identify highsulfur
fuels when they leave the refinery. In practice, this requires refiners to add a level
of red dye that is equivalent to no more than 0.75 pounds/1,000 bbl (ptb) (2.14 mg/L)
of a solid Solvent Red 26 dye standard. Solvent Red 26 was chosen as the standard
because it is a unique chemical available in pure form. Diesel fuels are actually dyed with
liquid concentrates of Solvent Red 164 because this dye is more fuel soluble and less
costly than the standard. Solvent Red 164 is a mixture of isomers that are very similar to
Solvent Red 26, except the former incorporates hydrocarbon (alkyl) chains to increase its
solubility in petroleum products.
Any red dye observed in the fuel of a vehicle in on-road use triggers a measurement of the
fuel’s sulfur content. Penalties are assessed based on the actual sulfur content of the fuel,
rather than simply on the presence of dye.
As of June 2012, only heating oil will require red dye for EPA purposes. By then,
on-road, non-road, locomotive, and marine diesels will all be ULSD.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Requirements

U.S. IRS regulations require that tax-exempt diesel fuels, both high-sulfur and low-sulfur,
have a minimum level of a Solvent Red 164 dye that is spectrally equivalent to 3.9 ptb
of the Solvent Red 26 dye standard. This level of dye is more than five times the amount
required by the EPA regulations. The IRS contends that the high dye level is necessary to
allow detection of tax evasion even after five-fold dilution of dyed fuel with undyed fuel.