RDK Blogs

Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) is a urea chemical based reactant that is
required for meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency?s (EPAs)
diesel emissions regulations that were mandated for 2010.

The regulations put forth by the EPA require near zero oxides of nitrogen
(NOx) emissions and DEF is required for Selective Catalytic Reduction
(SCR) systems, which is required to meet the new guidelines. The process
of Selective Catalytic Reduction systems work like this: DEF is injected
into the engine exhaust which creates ammonia, travels through a SCR
catalyst. The chemical reaction that takes place creates a byproduct of
harmless nitrogen and water vapors, thereby reducing emissions. This has
been a significant challenge in the industry as engine manufacturer?s work
to find a solution with a quality engine.

One company that has moved forward to meet these EPA regulations is
Cummins, one of the largest producers of engines for the heavy-duty truck
industry. Earlier this year, Cummins announced a strategic partnership
with Ashland Consumer Markets (more commonly known as Valvoline) to market
and distribute DEF in North America.

According to an article by Jim Mele in Fleet Owner, the introduction of
DEF will result in reducing operating costs at an average of 2.5% and an
increase of consumer confidence of 5-6% over the 2007 engine models. The
article also stated that it is expected that regulators will expect a 50%
improvement over current performance by the year 2014.

Our view is to expect continued changes in the technology and
manufacturing of heavy-duty engines as they work to meet these EPA
regulations and continue working towards reducing emissions.

On the topic of global sustainability, several large companies such as
Wal-mart and Publix are making attempts to reduce waste. Wal-mart created
its initiatives geared towards following the U.S. EPA Food Waste
Hierarchy. In trying to find solutions for reducing waste, companies are
not only working to increase the efficiency of food packaging with
suppliers, some are also working with charities to donate excess food.
Feeding America, utilized by Wal-mart is one of the leading charities that
are taking this excess food and distributing it to locations throughout
the country.

According to Wal-marts 2010 Progress Update, in 2009 Wal-mart was able to
reduce waste production by 64% and distributed more than 127 million
pounds of food. In addition, they were able to recycle 1.3 million pounds
of aluminum, 120 million pounds of plastics, 11.6 million pounds of mixed
paper and 4.6 million pounds of cardboard. They are also working to
reduce the amount of paper waste and have projected eliminating the need
to print 350 million pages which would create a savings of $20 million
dollars. In their various global networks, they have been able to achieve
a rate as high as 82% of recycling from their in-store waste.

Publix has been focusing on in-store recycling, and began its efforts in
2008. By 2009, their companywide in-store recycling rate was 45% of waste,
recycling 211,600 tons of cardboard saving 5,122,026 trees, 1,470,000
gallons of water, as well as, 1,890,000 cubic yards of landfill space.
They also recycled 7,000 tons of plastic, saving approximately 621,330
barrels of oil.

This corporate awareness of recycling is critical of the direction more
companies should be moving towards, and it is refreshing to see their
participation in global sustainability efforts.