Automotive grade urea
Uses and Properties
The Automotive Grade Urea Sector Group (AGU) is an association of European urea producers dedicated to the responsible usage of NOx reduction agent AUS 32 (aqueous urea solution, abbreviated “AUS 32”) specified in the ISO standard 22241 and AUS 40 (aqueous urea solution, abbreviated “AUS 40”) specified in the ISO standard 18611 for the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions of diesel engines in order to assist the related industry to fulfill the requirements of the relevant European emissions legislation.
AUS32 is better known in Europe under the trade name AdBlue®, a trademark that is owned by VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie) and which is licensed to about 160 licensees, including the AGU members.
Issues and Regulations
Topics and regulations
REACH Implementation
The registration of automotive grade urea to compile with the REACH requirements will be handled by the European Fertilizer Manufacturer Association.
Consortium management: ReachCentrum
Specific Topics
AGU aims to:
- promote the use of NOx reduction agents (i.e. AUS 32 – aqueous urea solution, abbreviated “AUS 32”, specified in the ISO standard 22241 and AUS 40 – ISO Standard 18611, hereinafter jointly referred to as “AUS”) for the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions of engines in order to assist the related industry to fulfil the requirements of the relevant European legislation
- advocate the use of AUS 40 for the selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions of engines for ships
- monitor the implementation of the legislative developments in this field and the environmental progress achieved by this initiative
- develop and promote common industry positions and interacting with regulators, opinion leaders, relevant industry organisations and the general public
Additional Information
There is growing concerns regarding air pollution caused by diesel cars due to the Dieselgate scandal. However, modern diesel cars contain innovative technologies that reduce significantly emissions. SCR (selective catalytic reduction) is one of them and AUS32 (traded in Europe under the name AdBlue®) is an essential element of this technology . It can neutralize up to 90% of NOx emissions. Check out the AECC (Association for Emissions Control by Catalyst) diesel information hub for more information. In addition, plug-in hybrid cars based on a diesel engine could combine the best of two worlds, electric for the cities and diesel for long-distance drive. These hybrid cars equipped with state-of-the-art diesel engines using the SCR technology can reduce CO2 emissions down to 29 g/km. The share of hybrid cars in new car sales is growing in Europe supported by taxation measures.
For more information on how to use of AUS 32 to reduce NOx emissions from cars, trucks and non-road mobile machinery, consult the following websites:
Here are also recent news regarding automotive grade urea:
- AECC video (February 2021): Technical and Scientific Manager Joachim Demuynck outlines how the Association is further reducing gasoline vehicle emissions through its light duty gasoline demonstration project and continuous innovation of emission controls.
- AECC press release (May 2019), AECC demonstrates diesel is future-proof
- Bosch press release (April 2018), Breakthrough: new Bosch diesel technology provides solution to NOx problem: automotive grade urea is an essential element of this new technology.
- Neste Blog article (May 2017), Let’s not rush with diesel.
- News article (May 2017) about a world-first AdBlue conversion technology
- Volvo Penta article (September 2017) on Exhaust after treatment system: NOx emissions limits are also becoming more severe for non-road mobile machinery (NRMM). Stage V requirements on new NRMM will become mandatory as of January 2019. Automotive grade urea helps achieve stringent emission limits on diesel powered engines.
Chairperson
Chair: Javier Palomino, Fertiberia
Vice-Chair: Johan Doberer, Borealis
Contact
Aertsens Frédéric
Sector Group Manager
+32 496 262 343
fae@cefic.be