Due to regulations, gasoline is rated by octane. The higher the octane, the higher the detonation point for the fuel (i.e. for high compression, high temperature, and/or higher boost pressures). For diesel, well, you have diesel, diesel or diesel.
There is really no government regulation of the quality of fuel that we are using (there is a minimum standard, but stations are regularly below that). That is why sometimes when you fill up, the truck seems peppy and other times it is a dog.
There are variations at the pump coast to coast (heck, even across the street) is quite large. The cetane rating ranges from about 38 to 45. Unlike a gasoline vehicle where the difference between 87 and 89 isn’t noticeable, you can feel the difference in a couple of points with cetane.
For gasoline, the higher the octane numbers the better the fuel. There doesn’t seem to be a limit. Diesel fuel isn’t the same. The benefits from cetane start to level off as the cetane levels reach into the mid to upper 50s. By the time it is in the 60s there difference between a few points isn’t noticeable.
Since fuel at the pump having such a wide range and there being so much room for improvement, there is a decent market for fuel additives. Companies like Power Service make additives that can bump the cetane rating by 8 points. There are, also, some special blends that competition trucks use that can actually go even higher (around 20 pts).
With fuel prices being high (not as high as they have been, but we still would rather pay a dollar a gallon), spending more money on additives isn’t always appealing.
Thanks to recent advances in chemistry and refining process, there is a new fuel available in large enough quantities that fuel stations are able to start carrying it that may change everything. A company called Propel Fuels Inc, is introducing a new high performance diesel fuel that has a cetane rating of 75.
While 75 is certainly well into the diminished return region of cetane, it does means that the trucks will be able to burn the fuel much better, resulting in less regeneration cycles for newer trucks and more power and fuel economy for all diesels.
Now before you say, “Yeah, but how much is that going to cost” because we know you are already thinking it, the initial rollout is in California. According to CA.gov, the average price for diesel fuel in northern California is $3.008 a gallon (as of 3/25/2015). The new fuel is coming in at $2.89 a gallon. Keep in mind, this is a mass market fuel and it is being priced competitively against regular diesel. It is actually slightly cheaper than most diesel fuel in the area.
There are a ton of benefits to this new fuel and we are really excited to see the roll out. Check out Propel Fuels’ dedicated diesel website here.