Diesel 50: Answer to early deaths?

Tafadzwa Kadani
While Zimbabwe is moving towards phasing out diesel 500 and adopting diesel 50 in a bid to cut carbon emissions, motorists have said that they do not have adequate information pertaining to the differences between the two.
Motorists are, therefore, calling on the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) to avail more information so that they know the merits of diesel 50.
Diesel 50 has been introduced as part of measures to cut the impact of diesel emissions on the environment and improve the health of the general citizenry.
Nine out of 54 African countries – including Morocco, Tunisia, Tanzania and Kenya – have phased out diesel 500 in favour of diesel 50.
Zera fuel technologist, Mr Hebert Mataruka said diesel 50 has low sulphur, containing 50ppm (parts per million) sulphur, which is way lower than the regular diesel used in Zimbabwe. Regular diesel contains about 500ppm of sulphur.
“At the moment, Zimbabwe is using both diesel 50 and 500 but we are hoping to join the other nine countries and phase out the latter. However, this will be done in consultation with Mozambique as we share the port with them,” said Mr Mataruka.
Speaking at a Zera strategy consultative workshop recently, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Mr Partson Mbiriri waded into the issue and urged Zera to find ways of ensuring that diesel 50 becomes available across the country at low cost.
“ . . . the country is alive to the needs to reduce carbon footprint hence I implore Zera to come up with necessary provisions to ensure availability of the low sulphur diesel 50 at affordable prices,” said Mr Mbiriri.
The reduction of sulphur in fuel is done at refineries through a process called desulphurisation, thereby resulting in cleaner fuel.
Studies have shown that diesel 50 contributes to reduced emissions of particulate matter into the atmosphere through the exhaust pipe.
Sulphur particulates can cause lung cancer and cardio-pulmonary diseases when inhaled.
Diesel 50 has been described as one of the answers to early deaths.
The ICCT says the use of low sulphur fuels such as diesel 50 together with adoption of stringent vehicle emission standards is projected to cut early deaths by 75 percent by 2030.
Said Mr Mataruka: “When diesel is burnt in the engine, sulphur is converted into sulphates which form particulate matter (PM) emissions commonly referred to as particulate matter size 10 micron and size 2,5 micron or PM10 and PM2,5 respectively.”
He also explained that the primary reason for introducing low sulphur fuels such as diesel 50 is to enable introduction of emissions control devices in vehicles that can significantly reduce emissions and to allow them to achieve their full emissions potential.
“In diesel engines, the common emission control devices are diesel oxidation catalysts, diesel particulate filters, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology and NOx absorbers,” added Mr Mataruka.
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) says diesel particulate filters can remove 99 percent of black carbon emissions.
It is recommended to use diesel 50 for diesel vehicle models for improved engine performance.
Zera says diesel 50 has much better combustion quality than regular diesel because of its high cetane number.
Diesel 50, therefore, burns much more efficiently, thereby resulting in great potential for improved fuel consumption and engine performance.
lt is also good for the engine life span.
“Diesel 500 usually combines with sulphur compounds to form acids and results in corrosion and excessive engine wear. Generally, the lower the sulphur levels the less the engine wear,” explained Mr Mataruka.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), small particulates (PM10 or PM2,5) are estimated to cause over 3,2 million premature deaths each year worldwide.
In 2012, diesel PM was officially classified as carcinogenic (having the potential to cause cancer).
The smaller part of PM is called black carbon (BC), which is now thought to be the second most important climate forcer following carbon dioxide.
Vehicular emissions, especially those from diesel vehicles, are accountable for up to 50-80 percent of the PM pollution in cities all over the world.
Studies have shown that producing low sulphur fuels such as diesel 50 can have a very positive impact on the economy as expenditure on health is reduced. In 2012, there were 3,7 million deaths from ambient air pollution.
The latest WHO estimate of outdoor air pollution impact points to a handful of diseases that are the central cause of high deaths throughout the world.
The primary cause of early death is heart disease followed by stroke, which combined account for more than 80 percent of the outdoor air pollution health burden.
Lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are diseases of the lung and a relatively small share of the global burden.
All of these diseases occur in adults.
There still remains a small fraction of outdoor air pollution burden that affects young children, and this is acute lower respiratory infections such as pneumonia.
According to the WHO, black carbon may not be a major direct toxic component of fine particulate matter, but it may operate as a universal carrier of a wide variety of chemicals of varying toxicity.
Diesel trucks are a major source of black carbon, which is now thought to be the second most important climate forcer following carbon dioxide.
Use of diesel 50 reduces black carbon, thereby reducing global climate warming.
However, Zera is yet to come up with a colour code for diesel 50 as this has to be done through discussions with the Standards Association of Zimbabwe.
“As of now, there is no specific colour code for diesel 50 because it is a process that involves many stakeholders but it is in the cards slated for discussions in the near future,” said Mr Mataruka.
Currently, there is also no price regulation for the new product as it is being promoted.
At the moment, Zera is only regulating prices for diesel 500.
According to Zera, average prices on the Zimbabwean market show that diesel 50 is only 1,5 percent more expensive than the regular diesel.