Yara keeps deposits at bay with OptiSpray
AdBlue producer Yara has detailed the advantages of its OptiSpray product, which has been designed specifically for applications and instances where engines operate intermittently.
“Road transport vehicles, most buses, vans, agricultural and construction machinery are all equipped with Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) to be fully compliant with emission regulations,” said the company.
“The SCR catalyst needs AdBlue or other urea solutions to function.
“OptiSpray prevents deposit formation in the SCR system. Based on 32.5 per cent urea solution, it conforms to the purity specifications of the ISO 22241 standard for AdBlue.”
Deposit formation can occur in SCR systems when engines are idling, running at low average speed and/or with a high number of stop/starts, explains Yara.
“Agricultural and construction machinery and other low engine load applications are particularly susceptible to this,” said the company.
“Deposit build-up may in turn lead to blockages and ultimately engine failure.
“With a low concentration (<0.05 per cent) of surfactant additive, OptiSpray will help prevent deposit build-up and therefore no adverse effects on the SCR catalyst. This reduces maintenance costs and minimises downtime, resulting in more cost effective and efficient operations.
“OptiSpray has been tested in various conditions and at low exhaust temperatures. The product demonstrated a reduction in deposit formation in all tests, and all field test results demonstrated problem free operation. The vehicles that were tested previously used ordinary AdBlue and had experienced SCR back-pressure alarms at unacceptable intervals.”
Yara reports that it had several customers who had experienced issues with a build-up of deposits within their equipment’s SCR system before starting to use OptiSpray, causing their vehicles to be taken out of service and requiring costly maintenance and down-time as a result.
Since using OptiSpray they have all experienced reductions in deposit formation and associated issues, Yara says – adding that while OptiSpray is the solution to these issues, the more difficult part is getting this message to those users encountering the problems.
This point was highlighted during a meeting with Sports Direct/Frasers Group in August 2022, reports the company.
“OptiSpray was discussed with the site facilities manager and he was not aware that they had any issues,” explained Kristian Reeve, OptiSpray account manager at Yara.
“We then moved on to talk to the transport manager and fleet engineers and it was clear that they had been suffering issues with crystallisation of their AdBlue systems for years. The next bulk AdBlue delivery was substituted with OptiSpray for a trial period.”
Jamie Potter, transport manager for Sports Direct/Frasers Group, said: “We were having lots of problems with a build-up of deposits in our lorries SCR systems causing issues with the AdBlue pumps, injectors, and sensors. We have a fleet of 115 lorries and were getting 4-5 lorries being taken out of service for repairs every month. This was very costly and time consuming to the business.
“I was very keen to swap over to OptiSpray in our two bulk AdBlue tanks. Within two weeks of using OptiSpray all the issues disappeared, and we are now in May 2023 and still no issues. OptiSpray has eliminated crystallisation issues and provided a cost-effective solution, I would never go back to using AdBlue.”
OptiSpray is said to be ideal for low engine-load fleets, or those operating in cold conditions, but even so, it can also be used with SCR vehicles operating with high engine loads and long distances, says Yara, meaning there is no need to use two separate urea solution products in mixed engine load fleets.
