Samart Points the Way to Clean Air
In Thailand, like many other countries in SE Asia there is no specific legislation to curb exhaust emission from the engines used in agriculture. Yet, there is a government established target to reduce pollution levels. Is there anyone in Thailand who has not heard of PM 2.5? If we actually want to address the problem of air pollution through restrictions on vehicle emissions it makes sense to be prepared to introduce properly developed solutions over an acceptable time period as the preferred option, and introduce these gradually.
It’s what happened in Europe. Legislation was fed in over several years to gradually improve the standard of the gasses from machine exhaust. Sounds like a big thing doesn’t it? But it’s really not. Governments simply laid down standards and the machine manufacturers complied…eventually.
As mentioned, currently, in most Asian countries there are no regulations surrounding engine emissions. So literally any type of engine, even obsolete second-hand engines can be built into new machines, and operated regardless of the emissions of the engines and their potential for pollution. Most of these, even new engines (assuming engines of 140 kW) will produce around 990 grams of pollutants for each hour of operations. Many of them substantially more.
Mindful of this, some years ago, we at Samart introduced a new range of engines to our line up. The Volvo Penta 840 VE range, a 6 cylinder diesel engine with a new engine management system. Importantly, at Euro Tier two it provided lower running emissions and virtually eliminated exhaust smoke. But it also bought more usable power to our machine, along with lower fuel consumption. Initially, some customers were sceptical, as the engine is common rail. But after acceptance by several key users demand has grown for machines fitted with this engine. The engine management alone has proved invaluable, reducing driver fatigue, simplifying operation and collecting valuable statistical data for machine output projections.
However, as presented at last year’s Sugarex Thailand exhibition (Khon Kean Sep 2025) Samart will, in future offer as an option, a further variant of the Volvo Penta engine range which conforms to Euro Tier 5 emission standards, the Volvo TAD 880 VE model.
This option was driven by a demand from new markets requiring lower emission levels. At Samart, we always conduct a feasibility study on any new project, but because the new engine fell into the same engine family as current Volvo Penta, it was clear from the outset there would be no insurmountable issues. However, you will see from the photos that our development engineers had a few more components to accommodate. The filtration system alone, is quite bulky, and you will also notice the AdBlue reservoir tank. Basically, the after treatment process includes a catalytic converter (SCR) which splits out the soot particles, a filter (DPF), which collects and burns the soot, a further catalyst (SCR) splitting the gas into water and nitrogen and a stabilising filter (ASC) to remove excess nitrogen. Also during these two major filtration processes an ammonia solution (AdBlue) is injected to initiate the reaction. Sounds complicated? It is, but fortunately the process is controlled by the engine’s management computer, so the operator will not even notice. The engine also performs just as well as the standard product. Smooth, efficient and economical on fuel, with plenty of power.
However, additional technology and components obviously adds unwelcome cost. Add the requirement to fill the reservoir for the ammonia solution (AdBlue) as it is depleted. Plus, the maintenance and eventual replacement of the filters and it does mean more responsibility for the end user.
Taking a moment to look at the result of this process though, and everything starts to make ecological, if not economic sense. With Tier 5 after treatment, harmful emission from our Volvo Penta engines is totally neutralised. After treatment the exhaust gasses on the TAD 880VE becomes a harmless mix of water (H2O) and nitrogen (N), both of which can dissipate safely into the atmosphere. Pollutants (soot & carbon monoxide) are reduced by more than 90% over modern standard engines becoming negligible in comparison to almost any diesel engine currently in use in South East Asia today. The whole process becomes “clean” to European standards.
Does anybody care? Good question. Why should anyone operating diesel equipped agricultural equipment want to take this burden on? Put simply, the European nations have adopted this out of legislative necessity. But, adopt it they have. As a result, air quality has improved measurably, and the added cost and complexity has simply become for them a way of life. Certainly, with our government driving a “clean air” agenda, adoption of Tier 5 might be something that should, or at least could, be considered? Certainly, the use of such an engine would contribute substantially in our government’s fight against PM 2.5 particulates. But does anyone actually care enough? Samart does, that is why we have introduced this option.
Contact our technology department for further information.
