Future Fuel May Have Less Sulfur

April 1, 1999 3:31 PM, EST

Engine manufacturers and petroleum companies will meet in mid-April to talk about the future of the diesel engine in the face of increasing government regulation.

Once again, the sulfur content of the fuel is one of the prime targets.

At the conference, federal regulators and representatives from the oil and engine industries will discuss, among other things, pending negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency on reducing sulfur.

EPA and engine makers see further sulfur reduction as one way of curbing emissions, but the debate persists over how to do it and the effect it would have on engine performance and the price of fuel.

“The No. 1 issue is cost and what a lower-sulfur fuel could mean in terms of dollars,” said Allen Schaeffer, vice president for environmental and highway policy for American Trucking Associations. “The other issues are ones of equity. If there’s going to be a push to clean up sulfur in diesel for on-highway vehicles, then we ought to be fair about this and make sure other modes are doing their fair share to reduce pollution too.”

Schaeffer said it was too early to say whether lower sulfur diesel would effect engine performance.

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