Cat announces Tier 4 engine strategy

Last month, Caterpillar gave the off-highway industry an advanced look at the strategies it is employing to meet Tier 4 Interim emissions standards for engines in the 75- to 750-horsepower range.

Those standards, due to take effect in 2011, will require 90-percent reductions in particulate matter and 50-percent reductions in oxides of nitrogen. Cat introduced under-75-horsepower engines that are Tier 4 Interim compliant last year.

Cat’s announcement said the company will meet the new emissions standards by using its Tier 3 ACERT technology as a foundation, adding next-generation turbo charging, and further advances in electronics, fuel systems, particulate after-treatment systems, and a suite of NOx reduction technologies. Engineers expect to improve fuel efficiency and maintain power, response, and durability.

“The technology we launch today,” said a company communiqué, “establishes the foundation for virtually zero particulate matter non-road emissions by 2014.”

Caterpillar plans to offer a new 7-liter engine designed specifically for Tier 4 Interim and future compliance, and it plans to feature increased displacement in its industrial C9 ACERT engine.

The assortment of NOx reduction technologies will allow the company to adopt “optimal” solutions depending on application and emissions requirements.

Cat’s C2.2 diesel engine, introduced last year in power ratings between 41 and 66 horsepower, complies with Tier 4 Interim emissions requirements which went into effect for under-75-horsepower engines this year.

Fully portable screen

GreyStone introduced a new fully portable, self-erecting screen tower that allows aggregate producers to move classifying equipment from site to site. The Self-Erecting Screen Tower uses a horizontal, vibrating three-deck wet screen. The company says it can be torn down and set up in less than two days. It is recommended as a primary screen for operations that screen 6-inch minus material, or as a secondary or tertiary screen for plants that screen larger material.