What is Diesel Exhaust Fluid, and what value is it adding to the diesel engine owners? In this article, we will be looking at one of the revolutionary products called DEF and some of its advantages.
What is Diesel Exhaust Fluid?
Also known as DEF, Diesel exhaust fuel DEF is a urea-based chemical reactant designed for use in SCR systems to reduce NOx emissions. It is a combination of deionized water and urea that transform harmful nitrous oxide emissions into harmless water and gas.
DEF is a non-toxic fluid injected into the exhaust stream that converts destructive nitrogen oxide (NOx) to harmless water vapor and nitrogen.It is an aqueous urea solution made with 32.5% urea and 67.5% deionized water.
One of the benefits of DEF is that it reduces NOx emissions in the exhaust gas system of your SCR equipped diesel vehicle. Also, it is compatible with different types of vehicles, including trucks, buses, tractors, cars, van as well as off-road vehicles.
Few Questions About Exhaust Fluid Answered
Can I store my DEF Outdoor? Be careful not to store your diesel exhaust fluid outdoor so as not to reduce its shelf life. When you expose DEF to high temperature, its shelf life will drastically reduce to twelve months instead of thirty-six.
Can I Be Interchanging Its Storage Tanks With That of Other Product? You should have a dedicated storage tank for your DEF and avoid using other storage with which you have previously stored other chemicals to prevent contamination.
What Are The Recommended Materials For Handling DEF? There are four essential materials recommended for handling diesel exhaust fluids – stainless steel, titanium, plastic, and rubber. Also, be sure to avoid brass, copper, and epoxy resins.
Can I pour DEF into Diesel/fuel Tank? The answer is no, reason being that DEF is not a fuel additive chemical, and as such, cannot be treated as one. Also, if your vehicle does not have a Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology, then DEF is not for you. Check out our article on diesel additive to learn more about this.
Can I restore my contaminated Diesel Exhaust Fluid? Your best bet is never to give room for contamination reason being that restoration of DEF if contaminated, is not possible.
Advantages of Diesel Exhaust Fluid
Advantages of diesel exhaust fluid include safer emissions, optimized combustion, increased engine lifespan, and reduced engine maintenance. Also, it prevents your engine from wearing out on time and invariably makes your vehicle more reliable.
Reduction of Pollution: Reducing pollution is possibly the primary reason for the introduction of diesel exhaust fluid. DEF helps in breaking down nitrogen oxide (NOx) gases into nitrogen and water and turns the once harmful Nitrogen Oxide into harmless substances that are consequently, released into the atmosphere without any form of worries.
Less Wear and Tear: Diesel exhaust prevents your engine from wearing out on time, which translates to engine efficiency and reliability.
Reduced Maintenance: If your engine is one of those few ones with SCR systems, you will enjoy less wear and tear on it throughout its life. How does this benefit you? Less wear and tear eliminates unnecessary breakdown and reduces the maintenance rate on your vehicle.
Easy to use: Diesel exhaust fluid is easy to use and readily available in most filling stations. Furthermore, you do not have to refill your DEF all the time compared to constant gas refilling. Also, you don’t need any special skills to fill your dedicated tank.
Better Efficiency Guaranteed: Your engine no longer has to deal with emissions, which makes it more efficient thanks to DEF. Furthermore, it enhances less wear and tear which invariably reinforce optimal performance and leads to better efficiency.
The Downside of DEF
Although this fluid is useful and harmless, you will have to agree with me that there no product without a downside. For example, you will be putting your Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system and your engine to risk if you apply the wrong DEF solution.
Also, you cannot restore contaminated DEF to its original state, and you must maintain prescribed storage temperatures for proper product preservation.