This past week the Diesel Technology Forum submitted comments to the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee about ways in which technologies are being developed to decrease emissions and the progress being made. The following information was gleaned from a press release pertaining to these hearings.
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Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum began his remarks by giving a nod to Rudolph Diesel, inventor of the diesel engine, whose birthday was just a few days later. He would have been 163. Many are unaware of the significant role diesel engines play in the global economy, chiefly due to innovation, investment and continuous improvement.
“Today diesel engines are delivering substantial benefits to society in the form of efficient and clean power," said Schaeffer. "Thanks to sustained research and investment from leading manufacturers, suppliers and fuel producers, advanced diesel engines have undergone a fundamental transformation in environmental performance while boosting energy efficiency."
Many critics of big government are unaware of the vast scope of the various branches of government and their functions. One example of this is the DoE's SuperTruck Program. The SuperTruck Program is a partnership between manufacturers and government that has produced new understandings about combustion and emissions reduction. "The SuperTruck program has translated fundamental research into new commercial technology on the road today that enables trucks to use less fuel and emit fewer greenhouse gases and other emissions," Schaeffer said.
Research enables us to prepare for a cleaner, sustainable future. It takes investment to learn how to couple hybrid-electric technology with battery storage systems or to find the boundaries of thermal efficiency. We're still scratching the surface of our understanding regarding the full possibilities of renewable biodiesel fuels. We don't really know how much we still don't know.
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Other key highlights that were made during the hearings included the following.
Diesel is an Economic Driver: According to research commissioned by the Diesel Technology Forum, industries that produce diesel technology and use these technologies generate $275 billion in economic activity.
Diesel is a U.S. Manufacturing and Skilled Workforce Success Story: Nearly a million diesel engines were produced in 2019. It takes a highly skilled workforce to produce these engines and an ever larger force to keep them runing.
New Technology Diesel Engines Deliver Clean Air Benefits Today: New technology diesel engines have eliminated more than 26 million tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) already since 2010. New diesel trucks are so clean that it would take more than 60 new-generation diesel trucks to equal the emissions from one truck sold in 1988.
New Technology Efficient Diesel Engines Are Delivering Major Greenhouse Gas (CO2) Reductions Today: More efficient diesel trucks now on the road since 2010 have already saved 12 billion gallons of fuel and eliminated 126 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 2011 and 2018. This is equivalent to taking 26 million cars off the road for a year.
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READ THE FULL STORY HERE:
Continued Investment, Innovation in Advanced Technology Diesel Engines Sustains Clean Air and Climate Progress
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/continued-investment-innovation-advanced-technology-165900489.html
A big difference today in diesel technology today is the fuel injection system. It's more sophisticated and works under higher pressures. The simplest gasoline-engine fuel injectors work at 45-60 psi above the ambient air pressure (14.7 psi), or at 3-4 bar (atmospheres). Most second-generation diesel engines sold today using a common fuel rail technology working at 15,000 psi or 1,000 bar. Third-generation common rail diesels reach 45,000 psi or 3,000 bar, using piezoelectric injectors similar to what Epson uses in its inkjet printers. (Gasoline direct injection, where the injector nozzle sticks into the combustion chamber, works at similar pressures.)
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