When you hear the word “urea,” your mind probably travels to places that have nothing to do with diesel engines. In fact, engines are likely the farthest thing from your mind when you hear that word. But urea technology is the next big thing for Mercedes-Benz.
The German automaker is about to bust through a technical barrier and become the first company to sell passenger cars with diesel engines equipped with urea injection. For the ML, GL and R-Class line-ups, the urea injection is a cleaner method for running the vehicles.
By injecting a urea solution into the exhaust system of the Mercedes-Benz at regular intervals, the car decreases its carbon emissions. This is due to a chemical reaction that reduces the nitrogen oxides into ammonia. From there, about 80 percent of the normal exhaust reduces into water and nitrogen through a secondary catalytic converter.
This is a great achievement because it means that the new Mercedes-Benz models will pass the emissions tests for all 50 American states. Yep, that means even California, the state with some of the strictest emissions standards in the world. The newer vehicles also meet the EU6 standards that will go into effect in 2014 in the European Union.
You can start looking for these cleaner models at your local Mercedes-Benz dealer starting in September of this year. The UK probably won’t see these vehicles until some time next year because the company is still making some refinements before releasing them in that market.
