It claims that the engine oil will extend DPF service life by up to 2.5 times for a 3% fuel economy retention advantage over the life of the equipment.
The DPF collects up to 98% of particulate matter emissions in the form of soot and ash, the majority of which is burnt off during typical DPF regeneration cycles. The ash element, however, is incombustible material derived from metallic lubricant additives, which means that over time the DPF clogs, and equipment and fleet owners are forced to take units out of service to restore the DPF function, incurring maintenance costs, and lost productivity.
However, this lubricant is formulated with 0.4% sulphated ash – far lower than the API and ACEA limit of 1% sulphated ash, as found in many current heavy-duty engine oils.
Rommel Atienza, Chevron global commercial band manager, said: “The downside of DPFs is their operation inherently increases fuel consumption to assure that enough heat is generated to burn off the accumulated soot. This comes at a cost, not only the up-front cost associated with these devices and the numerous sensors and dosing units that enable them, but also ongoing operational and maintenance costs.”
In a 2020 UK survey commissioned by Texaco Lubricants, 67% of respondents reported issues with the emission control systems, including many that specifically referenced the DPF.
Nearly half of the survey respondents indicated that they’d needed to force a manual regeneration of the DPF to restore its operation in service – an unplanned maintenance activity that keeps the truck off the road and out of service, and that also requires burning of fuel.
DPF blockages that required cleaning or replacement were the most commonly-reported issues.
Rommel Atienza said, “With DPF systems now being utilised not only in on-highway applications, but in the construction, mining, quarrying, power generation, agricultural and forestry sectors, it is safe to assume that similar issues to those experienced in the truck and transport sector will start to be reported elsewhere.”
The oil is also said to meet or exceed ACEA E6, E9, and OEM specifications, and has demonstrated ‘outstanding’ oxidation stability in industry, OEM and field tests, providing the opportunity to extend engine oil drain intervals.
At launch in July, the range comes in two specifications: Delo 600 ADF 15W-40 and Delo 600 ADF 10W-30.