A Brief Notes on BS Norms and BS VI

The Bharat Stage Emissions Standards (BSES)

Before going in-depth into the BS6 or Bharat Stage 6 norm, let’s start with the basics. The Bharat
Stage Emissions Standards (BSES) was introduced in the year 2000 are automotive emissions standards
mandated by the government of India to keep a check on air pollutants from an internal combustion
engine in a vehicle. These standards are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of
Environment and Climate change.

The BS (Bharat Stage) norms are based on EURO (European) emissions standards. The “India 2000” was
rolled out in the year 2000, followed by BS2 and BS3 in 2001 and 2005 respectively. It wasn’t until BS4
(4th stage) (BSIV), that more stringent emissions mandates were enforced. In 2016, the government of
India decided to skip BS5 altogether and implement Bharat Stage 6 (BS 6) by the year 2020.

What is BS6 (Bharat Stage 6)?

The Bharat Stage 6 (BSVI) norm is the sixth mandate for vehicular emissions and a much welcome change
amidst the rampant air pollution in India. BS 6 is a stricter, more restrictive norm that will give a jumpstart
to India’s long battle with air pollution. With the roll-out of the BS 6 norms, India will come at par with the
US and European equivalent emissions norms.

How is BS6 different from BS4?

1. The norm will bring a change in the fuel, as the BS6 compliant engine require BS6 fuel. A BS6
vehicle using BS4 fuel will not adhere to the BS6 norms. Indian oil companies have already
started distributing BS6-grade Petrol and Diesel at 391 filling stations in Delhi with plans to
make BS6 fuel available in all 13 major metro cities by April 2019.
2. A vital difference between BS6 and the outgoing BS4 fuel is that the BS6 fuel contains 5 times
fewer sulphur traces (10 parts per million) compared to BS4 (50 ppm). NOx (Nitrogen Oxide)
level will be brought down by a staggering 70% for Diesel engine and 25% for Petrol Engines.
3. The BS6 brings along a plethora of changes, most significant being the mandatory OBD
(Onboard Diagnostics) for all vehicles.
4. RDE (Real Driving Emission) will be introduced for the first time that will measure the vehicle’s
emission in real-world conditions against simulated conditions.

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 A Brief Notes on BS Norms and BS VI
5. Introduction of DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) for
Diesel engines.

What is a BS6 ready engine?

A Bharat Stage 6 ready engine has major modifications to its components to make it cleaner and adhere
to the BS6 emission norm. Modifications like improved fuel quality composition and a DPF (Diesel
Particulate Filter) and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) in diesel cars are put to use to make the vehicle
BS6 ready.

What are the challenges with BS6?

While it all sounds good to the consumers, it isn’t all hunky-dory with car manufacturers. With the eventual
phase-out of BS4 and introduction of BS6, automakers are pressing round-the-clock to develop BS6
compliant vehicles. In fact, due to non-compliancy, the Diesel engine has taken a massive hit with sales
dropping to an all-time low.

Billions have been invested in technology, research and development of BS6 fuel compatible engines.
Also, with the BS6 upgrade, the cost of manufacturing will shoot up with analysts claiming car prices to
soar up by 10%-15%. Luxury carmaker; Mercedes Benz recently introduced their BS 6 ready made-in-India
S-Class, way ahead of the deadline.

Can BS4 cars run on BS6 fuel?

Say you have an old car, pre-2020, BS4 compliant vehicle. You might be wondering if this new BS6 fuel will
damage your car. First, let’s get this one straight. If you drive a petrol-powered car, you don’t have to worry
about compliance. BS4 petrol and BS6 petrol have very little differences in terms of their chemical
composition. Petrol car owners can relax.

Now, this is not the same with diesel though. BS4 diesel had a much higher Sulphur traces (50 ppm),
whereas BS6 diesel contains only 10 ppm of Sulphur which is much forgiving for the environment. But why
is Sulphur so important? A diesel engine relies on its injector to ionise the fuel for it to become
combustible. Sulphur in diesel cars acts as a lubricant for diesel injector. Using BS6 diesel in a BS4 car
will cause the injector to wear out prematurely due to less lubrication (low sulphur). This can also
inadvertently increase emissions, due to disruption in the flow pattern of the fuel.

Can BS6 cars run on BS4 fuel?

Let’s flip the case. You have bought a brand new BS6 compliant car and you fuel your car at a petrol
station that only stocks old BS4 fuel. Now you wonder, will BS4 fuel damage my BS6 car?

Again, let’s put petrol aside as the chemical composition of both BS4 and BS6 is identically the same. For
diesel-powered cars, using BS4 fuel in a BS6 vehicle can cause a host of expensive problems. BS6 diesel

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engines have very sophisticated electronics and a re-developed exhaust system. With the introduction of
DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction), using BS4 diesel with high sulphur
content will drastically increase the emission (due to increased sulphur ppm) eventually clogging up the
diesel particulate filter. This will also affect the fuel economy in diesel cars.

What is the difference between BS4 diesel and BS6 diesel?

Unlike, BS6 petrol, BS6 diesel is very different when compared to its BS4 predecessor. The major
difference being Sulphur content. BS6 diesel contains upto 5 times fewer sulphur content than BS4 diesel.
In fact, BS6 diesel is limited to just 10 mg/kg of sulphur, compared to the 50 mg/kg content in BS4 diesel.
This is so to cut down on N20 (Nitrous Oxide) emissions by more than 70%. Using BS4 diesel in a BS6 car
can cause serious damage to the fuel delivery system. The increased amount of sulphur will choke the
fuel and catalytic convertor. And using BS6 diesel in a BS4 car will result in friction issues due to low
sulphur content.

What is the difference between BS4 cars and BS6 cars in terms of
performance?
Lowering environmental emissions can really take a hit on a car’s performance. A cleaner engine carries a
generally slower combustion process. Adding to this, are major exhaust modifications which further
bottlenecks the overall performance of the cars. Therefore, BS6 compliant cars will be down on
performance.

However, Indigenous car manufacturers like Tata and Mahindra are pumping investment into their engine
and powertrain research and developer to offer a balanced performance proposition for their forthcoming
BS6 cars.

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Source: https://gomechanic.in/blog/bs6-explained/

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