Because the methane crisis has caused the cost of AdBlue to soar

The increase in the price of gas has also dragged up the cost of the additive, which serves to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions in diesel engines

Cars on Italian motorways (La Presse - Vince Paolo Gerace) There are about 1.5 million trucks in Italy with Euro6 diesel engines which risk to remain stationary due to the lack of the AdBlue additive, necessary to reduce the nitrogen emissions contained in the exhaust gases of diesel engines and without which it is impossible to turn on these vehicles. The increase in the price of methane has in fact made the production of AdBlue more scarce and expensive, the fundamental component of which, ammonia, is synthesized precisely from liquefied natural gas.

What is AdBlue ?

Adblue is the trade name for a solution in demineralized water of technical urea, which is a compound derived from ammonia. In new generation vehicles it serves to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, the pollutant of diesel. When the additive in the engine runs out, it continues to work until the first shutdown and from there the starter control unit does not let the engine restart until the liquid is topped up.

Why it is in short supply ?

The shortage of AdBlue, which is alarming the trucking sector, stems from the methane crisis due to the increased demand for gas as a substitute for more polluting fossil fuels and the geopolitical pressure on prices of the Russian Federation, which holds a monopoly on gas pipelines for the export of gas to Europe. In this way, in the last year, synthesizing the compounds necessary for the production of AdBlue has become increasingly expensive and the various European producers have had to abruptly slow down its manufacture.

In Italy, the situation was aggravated by the decision of the company Yara of Ravenna, the only Italian producer and supplier of 60% of the national AdBlue market, to suspend the production of the additive for one month. The cost of this substance has gone from 230-250 euros per ton to 300-500 euros within two weeks.

What does this situation entail?

The increase in prices goes to be charged directly to transporters and truck drivers, who suffer a high rise in management costs and operating costs. Many transporters are already refueling at a cost more than doubled compared to the spring, reports the trade association Fai conftrasporto on Il Sole 24 ore. In addition to this, the increase in AdBue prices could lead to an increase in harmful emissions, due to the risk of removing the control units that check the additive level and prevent the vehicle from starting if it is too low.


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Topics

Diesel Energy Italy Transport globalData.fldTopic = "Diesel, Energy, Italy , Transport "

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