If you’re not a professional driver, you may have never come into contact with AdBlue. The professional ones are usually well familiar with this substance since its usage is required in most trucks. What does Adblue serve for, and is it obligatory to use it nowadays?
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What is Adblue?
AdBlue is a water-based urea solution with the ability to reduce nitrogen oxide. It cooperates with the selective catalytic reduction system, breaking down its compounds into nitrogen, steam, and trace amounts of carbon dioxide.
Due to the strict norms constituted by the European Union regulations, the level of pollutants emitted by the vehicles has to remain low. The new models are equipped with engines that lower the emission levels significantly. However, the old ones often require additional filters to reduce the number of harmful compounds getting into the air as a result of combustion processes.
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The majority of trucks circulating on European roads have obsolete engines that emit significant amounts of pollutants. To control it, the EU has introduced norms that oblige the drivers to use Adblue as the support for the scr systems if the vehicle doesn’t fit the specified standards.
When is it obligatory to use Adblue?
Adblue is used in compression-ignition engines in diesel cars. To know whether you have to use it, you should check which norms your vehicle fulfills. Every few years, the new norm gets introduced, and each time the emission levels get lower. The purpose is simple – reducing the number of pollutants reaching the atmosphere through the usage of diesel vehicles.
Currently, the newest norm is Euro6. All the diesel vehicles that fulfill the Euro5 norm or the earlier one are required to use Adblue to reduce the nox emissions.
Why can Adblue be problematic?
The usage of Adblue comes with some benefits as well as inconveniences. The first problem is the temperature in with the liquid freezes in the fuel tank – it’s only -11,5 degrees Celsius. That makes it quite problematic to use in winter. At the same time, Adblue doesn’t work well in high temperatures. When they reach above 30 degrees Celsius, using the liquid for the SCR system is not effective. It’s also worth noting that the product has corroding properties, so you should be careful while refilling it.
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Some drivers of light commercial vehicles and heavier trucks use AdBlue conversion kits as a substitute for the product itself. This way, the emission levels appear to be in norm during the control without the need to use Adblue. However, before using Adblue conversion kits, it’s worth making sure that their usage is allowed in your country.
