Revisions to Petroleum Equipment Institutes’ recommended practice for DEF storage and dispensing—RP1100—were discussed by J. Stephen Hieber, chairman, PEI DEF Committee and President, PWI, Incorporated. The changes discussed were primarily in the “tweak” category in areas such as the labeling of retail dispensers, the applicability of refractometers to test quality and the addition of a new safety section. Bob Renkes, PEI executive vice president and general counsel made the session introduction and also acted as the day’s overall forum moderator.
Panel discussion on optimum DEF equipment solutions
The final forum presentation was a panel discussion on optimum DEF equipment solutions. The panelists were moderator Integer Senior Analyst Fabricio Cardoso; Joshua Wirgau, sales manager, Piusi USA, Inc.; Steve Cox, national sales manager, Separation by Design/KleerBlue; Don Bradley, national sales manager, Flowserve; and Jeff Smigiel, business development & marketing manager, Micro Matic USA.
The panelists noted that 5 to 6 years ago equipment compatibility with DEF (at the individual component level) was an issue as manufacturers got up to speed with the product. Today, DEF compatibility is largely not an issue in a mature equipment manufacturer marketplace. Now, the main issue is properly spec’d equipment for the specific application. Systems are sometimes over engineered or under the engineered, so it’s important to work with suppliers that have the appropriate knowledge and experience.
The need for more training and education for the end user was also noted. In many cases this was seen as general education within each sector. For example, some end users will buy a range of components off of the internet that are not specifically compatible with DEF and build their own system, not knowing about potential contamination and failure concerns. In agriculture, for example, there can be the mindset that DEF can be handled the same more casual way as fertilizer and crop protection dispensing.
Panelists noted that there are no cookie-cutter solutions once you move beyond a simple island set up. Downtime is very expensive in these off-road applications. For example, in agriculture the planting season might run 10 days so one day out of commission is a critical loss.
The 9th Integer Emissions Summit & DEF Forum USA 2016 will be held 25 – 27 October 2016, Chicago, USA.
