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Colby Shutt
Louise Bown
ENGL -2010-Sp15BOWN
February 22, 2015

Diesel Helping Pollution

Diesel, is it what we think it is, dirty and highly consuming, or is it the future and we just don't
realize it? I plan to answer these questions and several others. Diesel has the opportunity to be the
power source of the future, but too many people put it off and don't take a closer look at what it really
can be. The topics in this essay will be as follows, first, what is diesel, second, new technologies that
help make diesel better, and third, what is our government doing to diesel. Diesel isn't necessarily the
horrible monster we think it is, it can be civilized and help create a better world for us all. Diesel is
clean, inexpensive, and can be the power of the future. With a little work, cooperation, and
understanding diesel can help our current air pollution problem and create a better future for us and our
children.
What is Diesel
First off, what is diesel? Is diesel this gross smelling, black smoke producing, annoying
sounding, planet killing monster we all think it is? Or
is diesel an environment saver in disguise? Yes, diesel
is very capable of producing a lot of ugly black smoke,
being very loud and annoying, smelling very bad, and
killing our environment. What people don't realize is
that diesel can be the complete opposite or what we
think it is. It can be quiet, very efficient, produce very
little emissions, smell clean, and not let off any ugly

Illustration 1: Duramax Diesel Engine used in

Chevy and GMC Trucks

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smoke. Diesel is currently better and has been better than gasoline for quite some time. In the 80's it
was offered as very efficient when compared to gasoline engines. For quite some time diesel trucks
have been able to get much better gas mileage than gas trucks. These trucks also last longer, and can
work harder and longer. How is diesel capable of all of this? To understand this you have to understand
how a diesel engine works first. A diesel engine is a lot like a gasoline engine but it is simpler. Air is
pulled into the cylinder and then compressed, Explain That Stuff says, But in a diesel engine, the air is
compressed by anything from 14 to 25 times (ExplainThatStuff). A gasoline engine compresses it's air
and fuel to about 10 times it's original size, but in a diesel only the air is compressed, and once it's
compressed and has become very hot from this pressure, a fine mist of diesel fuel is injected in and all
this pressure and heat automatically causes the mixture to explode. In a gasoline engine a spark plug
has to ignite the mixture, but in a diesel it ignites automatically. Wikipedia says, Modern gasoline
engines have a maximum thermal efficiency of about 25% to 30% when used to power a car. Modern
turbo-diesel engines are using electronically controlled, common-rail fuel injection, that increases the
efficiency up to 50% (Wikipedia). Because the mixture in a diesel engine is compressed so much
more, it burns more completely, which means there can be less emissions, and it can consume less as
compared to a gasoline engine. Currently there is technology out there that makes it so that diesel
engines can run without producing any black smoke. From the factory, newer diesel cars and trucks
don't produce any black smoke. With new ways to quiet the sound from an engine and better mufflers,
it is very hard to tell if vehicles are diesel anymore.
Technology that Makes Diesel Better
New and current technologies that make diesel cleaner and better than ever. For quite some time
there has been equipment and technology out there that makes diesel cleaner running, but it is way out
of date and needs improvement. Current technology often harms these engines more than does them
good. It also makes them consume more fuel than they would without these pieces of equipment. One

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piece of emissions equipment that desperately needs to be upgraded is the DPF, or diesel particulate
filter. A diesel particulate filter catches the black smoke, also called soot, that is coming out of the
engine. These filters can only hold so much so they go through a process called regeneration where
diesel fuel is injected into the filter then ignited causing the filter to super heat and cleanly burning off
all of the soot. In order to create this extreme heat, a lot of diesel fuel is used which causes a vehicles
overall fuel economy to drop drastically. General motors has been working on a new diesel particulate
filter that can change all of this. Diesel Power magazine says, The latest version of the system, as
described in a December 2013 patent, found that regeneration took just 4 to 6 minutes and eliminated
80 to 90 percent of all the trapped
soot and, Instead, the EADPF
reduced the amount of fuel needed
for regeneration by a whopping 50
percent! (DieselPower).
Traditional DPF units needed 20 to
30 minutes to complete a full
regeneration cycle, but these new
electronically assisted units only
need around 5 minutes and can

Illustration 2: Electronic Diesel Particulate Filter

burn off more soot in that time than traditional units. These units use electronic grids instead of diesel
fuel to heat up so they consume much less fuel than before. This technology can raise fuel economy,
lower emissions, and save owners on costly repairs because they didn't drive enough for the filter to
burn off it's waste. Another piece of equipment that desperately needs some attention is the EGR or
exhaust gas recirculation unit. Cambustion.com says, This involves recirculating a controllable
proportion of the engine's exhaust back into the intake air. and, The substitution of burnt gas (which

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takes no further part in combustion) for oxygen rich air reduces the proportion of the cylinder contents
available for combustion. This causes a correspondingly lower heat release and peak cylinder
temperature, and reduces the formation of NOx (Cambustion). A gasoline engine doesn't produce
much soot so the EGR doesn't
really do any harm to your engine,
but with all the soot that diesels
produce getting pumped back
through the engine things tend to
get plugged up. By either
removing this piece of equipment

Illustration 3: Ehaust Gas Recirculation Diagram

and having another piece of

equipment that controls the emissions we can increase fuel economy and engine life, while keeping
emissions down.
What is the Government Doing to Diesel
Lastly, what is our government doing to diesel? Diesel has gotten a bad reputation because it
can look so bad, what people don't realize is that it can be good. Our government currently puts a lot of
restrictions on diesel engines to make them cleaner, because they used to look so terrible. Diesel
engines currently have to pass higher emissions standards than gasoline engines, but because of the
way they operate they are able to easily pass these emissions standards. There have been rules and
standards in place for quite some time, but that's not the problem, the problem is enforcing the rules.
LA Times says, The state's enforcement of its rules on trucks and buses has been slow and inadequate.
Without strong enforcement, trucking companies will simply avoid the cost of compliance at the
expense of the health of the exposed population. (LATimes). Unless people stand up and push for a
cleaner planet, we will not get one. People need to look into what they can do to help push for more

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strict enforcement. California is currently leading the country in regulations, The California Air
Resources board did pass the diesel emissions standards on Friday. The standards will be the toughest
in the nation and will require extensive retrofitting of heavy diesel trucks and buses. Some older
models will have to be phased out entirely. (ForceChange). California is doing all it can to break down
on diesel. Their requirements are more strict than ever, but if we want a cleaner world we need to get
behind them and push for change.
Table 1
Tier 3 Certification Bin Standards (FTP; 150,000 miles)
NMOG+NOx
PM*
CO
HCHO
Bin
mg/mi
mg/mi
g/mi
mg/mi
Bin 160
160
3
4.2
4
Bin 125
125
3
2.1
4
Bin 70
70
3
1.7
4
Bin 50
50
3
1.7
4
Bin 30
30
3
1.0
4
Bin 20
20
3
1.0
4
Bin 0
0
0
0
0
* In MYs 2017-20, the PM standard applies only to that segment of a manufacturers vehicles covered
by the percent of sales phase-in for that model year, Table 3.
Tier 3 emissions standards for cars and ligh-duty trucks. The standards will be phased in ending in 2025. (Table 1)

Conclusion
We all want a cleaner planet, we want our children and their children to be able to enjoy this
beautiful earth we have for a long time. If we don't do something about it though, our health is in
serious danger. The current pollution levels in our valley make people sick, and if they get worse, the
pollution could cause serious health problems and even kill people. Diesel can be part of the answer to
our problem. Diesel can produce lower emissions than gasoline powered vehicles and consume less of
our natural resources while doing it. The topics that were discussed were first, what is diesel, second,
new technologies that help make diesel better, and third, what is our government doing to diesel. With a
little work, cooperation, and understanding diesel can help our current air pollution problem and create
a better future for us and our children.

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Works Cited
Cambustion "Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and NOx Measurement." Exhaust Gas Recirculation
(EGR), NOx and Particulate Measurement. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.cambustion.com/products/egr>.
DieselNet "Cars and Light-Duty Trucks-Tier 3." Emission Standards: USA:. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
<https://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/ld_t3.php>.
DieselPower "Next-Gen Diesel Particulate Filter Technology." Diesel Power Magazine. 16 June 2014.
Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/1407_patent_trolling_next_gen_diesel_particulate_
filter_technology/>.
ExplainThatStuff "Diesel Engines." How Do Diesel Engines Work? Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.explainthatstuff.com/diesel-engines.html>.
ForceChange "California Passes Toughest Diesel Emissions Standards in U.S." ForceChange. Web. 17
Feb. 2015. <http://forcechange.com/1141/california-passes-toughest-diesel-emissionsstandards-in-us/>.
Illustration 1: "History of the Duramax Diesel Engine - Diesel Power Magazine." Diesel Power
Magazine. 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.dieselpowermag.com/features/1303dp_history_of_the_duramax_diesel_engine/>.
Illustration 2: "Next-Gen Diesel Particulate Filter Technology." Diesel Power Magazine. 16 June 2014.
Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.dieselpowermag.com/tech/1407_patent_trolling_next_gen_diesel_particulate_
filter_technology/>.
Illustration 3: "Diesel Systems." Delphi BA7 Actuators. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.delphi.com/manufacturers/auto/powertrain/diesel/engcontrols/ba7-actuators>.
LATimes "Cracking Down on Diesel." Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
<http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/13/opinion/la-oe-pope-diesel-emissions-air-quality20120813>.
Table 1: "Cars and Light-Duty Trucks-Tier 3." Emission Standards: USA:. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.
<https://www.dieselnet.com/standards/us/ld_t3.php>.
Wikipedia "Engine Efficiency." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engine_efficiency>.