Mack Trucks says renewable diesel is cleared for use in all Mack engines. This article from Today’s Trucking says the decision comes following “extensive truck and engine testing” by the company.
“As the availability and customer requests for renewable diesel fuel increase, we worked to ensure its compatibility with our engines,” said Stu Russoli, Mack highway and powertrain products marketing manager. “This approval gives Mack customers who seek to reduce their environmental footprint an additional choice when it comes to alternative fuels.”
Renewable diesel fuel delivers performance similar to diesel refined from petroleum, but with several additional customer benefits, including reduced greenhouse gas and particulate emissions, as well as decreased maintenance costs, according to Mack.
Similar to conventional biodiesel, renewable diesel fuel is derived from biomass feedstocks, including animal fats and oils. However, unlike biodiesel, renewable diesel fuel is produced using a different process and maintains physical properties and performance similar to petroleum diesel, meeting the same ASTM D975 standard.
Mack says renewable diesel fuel offers several environmental benefits to customers, including reducing particulate matter. A life cycle analysis of renewable diesel fuel conducted by the California Air Resources Board also demonstrated reductions in greenhouse gases by 15 to 80 percent, depending on feedstock source used. Also, customers can also save money with renewable diesel fuel, as it requires fewer maintenance costs compared to other alternative fuels.