Neste's renewable diesel reduces particulate emissions by 'up to 60%', new study claims

According to a new study, Neste MY Renewable Diesel usage reduces particulate emissions in working machines by up to 60%.

The study, led by Tampere University of Technology, indicates that the usage of pure Neste MY Renewable Diesel in working machines such as street sweepers efficiently reduces particulate matter emissions resulting from fuel use. In a press release, Neste says that with its renewable diesel, both the number of particles as well as particulate mass were reduced in nearly all of the operating cycles of the working machines.

"In this study, the use of renewable diesel in working machines reduced particulate mass by 35% on average, and in the best case by nearly 60%. Significant reductions of emissions, such as found in this study, have a huge impact on the operator of the machine as well as others in close proximity," says researcher and Neste's fuel and engine expert Jukka Nuottimäki who was also one of the researchers in the study.

"The benefits of renewable diesel usage in working machines - such as in street sweepers, excavators and snowplows - are even greater on the average than those resulting from the use in passenger vehicles or trucks. This has to do with the fact that working machines typically lack aftertreatment systems that can already be found in the newest passenger vehicles and trucks," clarifies postdoctoral researcher Panu Karjalainen from Tampere University of Technology.

Local exhaust pipe emissions of working machines from two size categories operating in an environment simulating real-life working conditions were measured for the study. The tests covered, for example, loading and driving of the working machine both with and without load.