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Chris Keziah Professor Caruso English 1102-021 30 July 2012 Why Diesel? In today society diesel have been given a bad reputation, they are viewed as big truck burning large amounts of fuel, slow, and are bad for the environment (Rudnick 13). This is due to the public perception of diesels throughout the late 1980s to the 1990s. During the beginning years of diesel they were slow, loud, and dirty. They would always emit high amounts of black smoke and you could not hear yourself think while one was running. This does not hold true for todays diesel vehicles, technology has advanced in such a way to provide a more powerful, cleaner, and quieter diesel engine. Diesels engines are not just found in ton and 1 ton trucks, some production cars in the United States are diesel. Gone are the days when the stereotypes fit diesels, now the largest obstacle to overcome is the consumer. The consumer needs to be educated so they know diesel is a more efficient and cleaner way of transportation. Diesel is a byproduct of crude oil refinement; it comes from the same product they use to make gasoline. Diesel has a higher energy density than gasoline does; 147,000 BTUs for diesel and 125,000 BTUs for gasoline (Marshall). Diesel can produce more energy from the same amount of fuel than gasoline. In similarly equipped vehicles the diesel will get higher fuel economy than the gasoline vehicle (Marshall). This can be the answer to most Americans issue with commuting; the difference in fuel economy is not just within small cars. It applies equally across the board. It would be more economical both in short term and long term due to the fuel economy and less overall maintenance a diesel requires.
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In mid-2006 the United States began to mandate ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). The older low sulfur diesel (LSD) has a sulfur content of 500 ppm, as compared to ULSDs 15 ppm (Trench). This just means it is a cleaner burning fuel than the older diesel fuel. So what does this have to do with the consumer? Now nothing the transition has already been completed and if you drive a newer diesel vehicle they are designed to run on the cleaner ULSD. This is just one of many fairly recent changes for diesel as far as emissions. Some other notable things are common rail direct injection, NOx filters, diesel particulate filter (DPF), and urea injection. Common rail injection is a system which uses a pressurized fuel rail in the cylinder head to into fuel directly into the combustion chamber providing a more efficient and cleaner burn (HowStuffWorks.com). NOx filters burn off the unwanted nitrogen oxide, a byproduct of diesel combustion which is detrimental to the environment (Fuhs 6). Urea injection is a newer addition to help further the reduction in NOx levels by a chemical reaction which converts the pollutant to nitrogen and water. The other main problem is particulate matter (PM) otherwise known as soot; this has been solved with the addition of a DPF. The DPF works just like an air filter does, it collects PM and when the sensors for the exhaust detect higher pressure the computer will inject extra fuel to increase the heat within the filter and burn off the PM (Fuhs 6). With these recent advancements diesel has now become the more environmentally friendly option. In my opinion there is no reason to go out and buy a new Toyota Prius because you want 45-50 miles per gallon, when you can buy a Diesel VW and see the same or better fuel economy. The main disadvantage of today is initial cost; they tend to cost more due to the heavier duty components of diesel engines (Rudnick 2). The others are emission of particulate matter and NOx, higher fuel cost, disadvantages are noise, and the low speed engine operating range (Rudnick 2-3). Most, if not all, of these problems have been solved with the aid of new
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technology. Newer 6 speed transmissions have made drivability increase and solve the low speed engine operating range problems. The emissions problems have been eased with DPFs, NOx filters, and Urea injection. Even noise has been solve with multiple injection cycles to reduce the diesel clatter at idle. The only disadvantage than remains today is fuel cost, which if making your own fuel is a option that can be resolved as well. Diesel does have some advantages as compared to gasoline. They have lower maintenance cost, due to the lower amount of wear items (Rudnick 3). They also, as mentioned above, have better fuel economy along with higher torque and incredible durability (Rudnick 3). All of these, in my opinion easily outweigh the disadvantages. Today the main concern is fuel economy and whether or not its safe for the environment. We need to, as a country, look to Europe as an example of how we can benefit from using diesel as an alternative fuel to gasoline. Consumer studies in Europe show an average of 40% use of diesels of all countries and as high 70% in some (Rudnick 3). This is some astounding numbers compared to the United States measly 1% of all sales (Rudnick 3). This shows if the consumer is educated enough they will sell and would be a great alternative to the needs of the everyday consumer. The main question of consumers in the United States is fuel economy. Well when comparing apples to apples a gasoline vehicle gets 30 mpg on the highway, while the same vehicle as diesel would get 45mpg (Rudnick 13). Today countries have millions of problems with a lot of people claiming they have millions of answers. Switching to diesel is not a solution, and gasoline is not a problem. If we all switched over to diesel we would be facing the problems we see with gasoline, fuel prices always changing and never constant. There is however for some to take advantage of this and use
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it to you advantage. Diesel does not fit everybody and will never fit everybody, but for what you can possibly gain by using the available resources there are very few drawbacks. Americans should look to others and learn the lessons they have so we dont have to learn them the hard way.
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Works Cited Bell, Damon. "How Clean Diesel Fuel Works." HowStuffWorks.com, 30 November 2006. Webpage. 12 July 2012. Fuhs, Allen. New Technologies: Internal Combustion Engine. Hybrid Vehicles. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis Ltd., 2008. N.p. Print. HowStuffWorks.com Contributors. "Is diesel fuel better for the environment?" HowStuffWorks.com, 21 June 2011. Webpage. 12 July 2012. Marshall, Brain. "How Diesel Engines Work." HowStuffWorks.com, 01 April 2000. Webpage. 12 July 2012. Rudnick, Leslie R. Diesel Automotive Trends. Synthetics, mineral oils, and bio-based lubricants. Boca Raton: CRC/Taylor & Francis, 2005. N.p. Print. Trench, Cheryl. "Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel at One Year." enewsbuilder.net, 2007. Webpage. 12 July 2012.