What is AdBlue?
AdBlue is a colourless liquid solution made up of urea and deionised water. AdBlue is not a fuel or a fuel additive: it has its own tank and is stored completely separately to your vehicle’s fuel. It is the most recognised form of diesel exhaust fluid.
How does it work?
AdBlue is injected into the cars exhaust system before harmful nitrogen oxides (nox) comes out of the exhaust pipe. The AdBlue is fed into the exhaust and works as part of a selective catalytic reduction system converting the harmful pollutants into nitrogen, water vapour and a small amount of carbon dioxide.
Should your fleet be using AdBlue?
The pursuit of lower emissions is a high priority in order to reduce the impact vehicles are having on the environment. Nox is one of the most harmful pollutants emitted by engines, as it reacts with other gases in the atmosphere to cause detrimental health and environmental effects. As AdBlue is one of the most efficient ways of keeping Nox levels in fuel emissions to a minimum, it has an incredibly important role to play in the future of all diesel vehicles. Keeping your fleet emissions to a minimum is essential in order to comply with euro 6 emission standards.
How much AdBlue do I need?
Only very small amounts of AdBlue are used at a time, so you won’t need to top up like you do with fuel, but it’s important that you don’t let supplies run out. Most vehicles will show a warning light on the dashboard well in advance so running out of AdBlue is easily avoided. On average a vehicle uses around 1 litre of AdBlue every 600 miles but various factors including driving styles, weather and the weight of load can affect this.
If you run out of AdBlue while you’re driving, then the engine’s power and performance will be reduced to limit its emissions. Once you’ve stopped, you won’t be able to restart the engine if the AdBlue tank’s empty.