ASTM International to Launch New Standards Activity on Diesel Exhaust Fluid

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Dec 06, 2010, 11:40 ET

W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- ASTM International, with support from the American Petroleum Institute (API), will be hosting an organizational meeting to discuss the development of consensus standards for support testing of diesel exhaust fluid. The meeting will take place on Jan. 6, 2011, at ASTM International headquarters in West Conshohocken, Pa. The meeting will commence at 9:00 a.m. and adjourn at approximately 4:00 p.m. EDT.

In an effort to comply with increasingly stringent diesel exhaust emissions standards, diesel engine manufacturers have invented a technology known as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) -- a method of converting harmful diesel oxides of nitrogen emissions, by catalytic reaction, into benign nitrogen gas and water. SCR can deliver near-zero emissions of nitrogen oxide in modern highway clean diesel engines. Implementation of SCR technology requires a new consumable fluid consisting of 32% urea in purified water, known as diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). SCR works by injecting DEF into the hot exhaust stack, where the fluid works in conjunction with the hot exhaust gases as a catalyst to break down nitrogen oxide into water vapor and nitrogen.

Potential subjects for standards development include storage materials and containers, identification of organic impurities, determination of material suitability, shelf life of the fluid, distribution systems, climatic impact and fluid disposal. Meeting registration is available on the ASTM website. There is no fee to attend this meeting.

ASTM International is one of the largest international standards development and delivery systems in the world. ASTM International meets the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles for the development of international standards: coherence, consensus, development dimension, effectiveness, impartiality, openness, relevance and transparency. ASTM standards are accepted and used in research and development, product testing, quality systems and commercial transactions.

View this release on the ASTM website at www.astmnewsroom.org.

View directions to ASTM headquarters at www.astm.org/MEETINGS/directions.htm and hotel information at www.astm.org/MEETINGS/hotels.htm.

Organizational Meeting Date: Jan. 6, 2011, ASTM International Headquarters, West Conshohocken, Pa., USA

Release #8726 / www.astm.org

SOURCE ASTM International