Old Fuel Alternative Mixed with New Technology - 3/12/08

Older diesel engines produce massive amounts of black smoke and nitrous oxide into the air.  They look like the most smog producing vehicles on the road.  Now new technology has enabled diesel engines to become cleaner, quieter and more efficient.  Half the cars on the road in Europe are powered by diesel engines.  This is because about ten years ago the forward thinking Europeans put in place high fuel taxes to help fight global warming.

Most people in the U.S. think diesel engines are worse on the environment than gasoline engines and on the surface it would appear so, but the diesel is superior to the gasoline engine in numerous ways.  Diesel produces less carbon dioxide over gasoline and the diesel engine gets 30% more miles per gallon.  The engine generally can last four times longer than the gasoline engine because it turns slower.  One of the biggest advantages of diesel is it can run on something other than petroleum.  Biodiesel can be made from soybean oil, animal fats, and waste vegetable oil. 

Other Related Articles:
Shell Oil Grows Marine Algae to Produce Biodiesel
http://www.beyondfossilfuel.com/biodiesel/shell_algae_010308.html

Back To the BioDiesel Alternative Fuel Page