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Iran considering measures to reduce diesel emissions

27 April 2015

A two day workshop was held in Tehran on 15-16 April 2015 to support the implementation of future clean diesel programs in Tehran and other Iranian cities that have some of the highest PM2.5 pollution levels in the world.

The workshop—organized by the Iran’s Air Quality Control Company (AQCC), Iran Department of Environment (DOE) and by VERT Association—was attended by over 180 participants from Iranian and European engine and vehicle manufacturers (Scania, Isuzu, Iran Kohdro Diesel and Saipa Diesel) and other stakeholders, including Iran Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Oil, Sharif University of Technology, as well as Germany’s TÜV Süd.

With the support of VERT Association, a diesel particulate filter (DPF) retrofit project has been started in Tehran for the public transit bus fleet. A pilot fleet of 10 buses have been retrofitted with DPF systems regenerated using fuel borne catalysts (FBC)—a DPF technology tolerant of high sulfur fuels that are used in Iran. The retrofit project has a target of 1200 bus retrofits by the end of 2015.

The Iranian government has been also considering emission reduction programs for new diesel engines. A letter from the government states that at a session on May 14, 2014, the Iranian cabinet “approved” the following requirements:

The feasibility of the new engine requirements must be taken with a grain of salt—the quality of diesel fuel in Iran limits the scope of potential DPF technologies to FBC and fuel burner regenerated filters that can be operated with high sulfur fuels. While FBC filters have been widely used on light-duty vehicles by PSA, they have not been used on new heavy-duty diesels that are the target of the Iranian program (passenger cars in Iran are predominantly fueled by gasoline). It should be also noted that clean air programs in Iran have had a rather poor record of enforcement.

Source: VERT Association