Applying “tried-and-true technologies from the on-road diesel marketplace,” Kohler and sister engine brand Lombardini have developed a new family of Tier 4 Final emissions-compliant power solutions that avoid the use of particulate filters.
In advance of the various 2013 worldwide emissions requirements, the result will be industrial, agricultural, landscaping or even smaller construction equipment powered by a compact engine built without the additional bulk required for a diesel particulate filter (DPF), Kohler and Lombardini officials say. The engines will fit existing machine design envelopes.
“The lack of a DPF is a real breakthrough for engines at these displacements,” says Dick Fotsch, president of parent Kohler Global Power Group, in response to the sister brands simultaneously introducing 1.9- and 2.5-liter engine models, rated at 56 and 74.3 horsepower. The design, says Fotsch, was accomplished via the use of direct injection, cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and diesel oxygenated catalyst (DOC). With 29,000 pounds per square inch of pressure, a high-pressure common rail system offers better atomization of the fuel, improved fuel consumption and a reduction in emission particulates, he says. “The power and torque of these engines in relation to their compact sizes and reduced fuel consumption have clear advantages to equipment manufactures and end-users.”
In the North America-based Kohler nomenclature, the new 1.9-liter KDI1903TCR and 2.5-liter KDI2504TCR engines will boast 166 and 221 foot-pounds of torque at 1,500 rpm. The engine mapping program within the electronic control unit (ECU) will monitor and manage output in varying conditions, by injecting fuel into the combustion cycle to maximize torque and power when needed.
The new Kohler and Lombardini engines were developed and will be built at the Lombardini plant in Reggio Emilia, Italy. During the Oct. 25 press conference at the facility, broadcast live to a worldwide online audience, Lombardini officials further announced the Tier 4 Final solution will eventually expand the engine product line to a 3.4-liter model, rated at 100 kilowatts or 134 horsepower.
“The easiest solution would have been to adopt a particulate filter on all existing engines,” said Giuseppe Duri, managing director. “We took a very challenging decision. The decision was to design from a white sheet of paper a brand new family of heavy-duty diesel engines that would meet the stringent emission regulations without the use of a diesel particulate filter.”
