BASF to capitalize on new diesels by raising AdBlue prices
Just as a whole batch of new fifty state-legal diesel vehicles are about to hit the market in the U.S., chemical company BASF is set to take advantage of the situation. BASF has announced that they will be raising the price of AdBlue by €45 per 1,000 liters. AdBlue is the 1/3 urea, 2/3 water solution used for the NOx after-treatment system in new diesel engines. The urea solution is injected into the exhaust gas stream where the heat of the exhaust causes it turn into ammonia by a hydrolysis reaction. The ammonia reacts with the exhaust in a special catalyst to turn the NOx into nitrogen and water. The only reason for using the urea solution instead of straight urea is to allow for more precise dosing so that it lasts longer and no excess is used and passed through the exhaust. The Mercedes and BMW vehicles that are coming to market with urea injection systems that hold about 4-5 gallons of AdBlue which needs to be replenished every 15,000 miles or so. BASF claims the price increase is due to tight raw material supplies and the need to ensure product quality.
[Source: BASF]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
steven 5:24PM (5/14/2008)
Yeah, $7.85 more every 100,000 miles is really gonna break those M-B and BMW buyers. More fodder for the anti-diesel league too!
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Dad 5:38PM (5/14/2008)
What happens if you run out of Urea and don't refill it? Can it be run "dry"?
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Noah 6:30PM (5/14/2008)
What happens if you run out of urea solution? I imagine piss in a jug filled 2/3 with water, then just fill 'er up. Screw BASF, make it yourself!
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Lad 1:24AM (5/15/2008)
The only reason I see diesel in the U.S. market at all is if bio diesel is widely available to run in the engines; otherwise, it does nothing to improve our energy security. In fact it's detrimental to moving away from fossil fuels and only delays our progress to electric drive and solar power generation. Any new money invested in R&D should be concentrated in the idea to move away from gasoline, diesel, coal and natural gas not to further the proliferation of dirty energy.
"There is nothing that continuing to use fossil fuels will do to improve the Earth's environment or our health."
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steven 11:55AM (5/15/2008)
@4: Good luck with that. But the fact is if one is provided a technology that uses LESS fuel, it IS progress. Because even of all of the hundreds of millions of vehicles on the roads were magically converted to EVs tomorrow by Tinker Bell, we'd still be using fossil fuels for a ton of other things. Ahh including in the making electricity.
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Mike 7:16PM (5/15/2008)
Way to go BASF, if you raise the price enough, perhaps you will kill the market for your product altogether. What was that story about a goose and golden eggs?
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