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:

Chairperson

Chair: Javier Palomino, Fertiberia

Vice-Chair: Johan Doberer, Borealis

Contact

Aertsens Frédéric
Sector Group Manager +32 496 262 343

Membership

BASF, Borealis, DUSLO, Fertiberia, Grupa Azoty, Yara International

Resources

There are no documents available