According to an article in New Scientist, petrol engines may not be as harmful to the planet as diesels.
A comprehensive climate model shows that the soot produced by diesel engines will warm the climate more over the next century than the extra carbon dioxide emitted by petrol engines.
Black particles of soot can absorb sunlight, warming the air and shielding the ground below and allowing it to cool. They can also affect the humidity of the air by acting as seeds around which water droplets can form. They can even influence how other pollutants accumulate in the air and change weather patterns.
Taking all these factors into account, one gram of carbon is 360,000 to 840,000 times as powerful a global warming agent as one gram of carbon dioxide.
So while diesel engines spew out less carbon dioxide, they spew out 25 to 400 times as much soot, making them much more potent warmers.
In the long term, the picture changes. Soot only stays in the air for weeks, while carbon dioxide will linger for 50 to 200 years. So, while petrol engines will create less global warming over the next hundred years, the cumulative effect means that they will cause more global warming 150 years from now.
I wonder why nobody has looked at this before??
Andy
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This was in the Times Higher Education Supplement a few weeks ago. Presumably nobody has looked into it because nobody was bothered about diesels. Nobody did any research into improving diesel engines until a few years ago, either. Now they account for well over 50 percent of European car sales, we need to look into it. Carbon traps will help, and improve over the years. But petrol engines also create soot, and in very fine particles that stay airborne longer (when they are not entering our blood streams through our lungs of course). Has anyone looked into that?
I'm afraid that internal combustion engines burning oils relatively inefficiently are bad for us one way or another.
Chris
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"A comprehensive climate model shows"
Absolutely nothing at all. Cimate is too complex. The best computing technology can't even scratch the surface.
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Ahh yes.
But when the original research (sic) was done, it was quickly established that to find diesel unclean would: -
1. Penalise most haulage & public transport.
2. Raise less tax than establishing petrol as the green enemy.
Errr, that's where the science ended.
Of course, as more people switch to diesel - we need new research!
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What about cars like my Citroen C5 2.2 HDI with particle filter? I've had it 6 months and haven't yet seen ANYTHING coming out of the exhaust. Tailpipe is spotless and never even a hint of smoke. Diesels can be cleaned up remarkably if the will is there.
Graeme
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Graeme: did you start it up yet? :-)
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I suppose I must have done - it's covered almost 8000 miles. Of course, it's also so quiet that you could easily be running with the engine turned off without really knowing........(!!!!)
Not all French cars or Citroens are disaster areas and some of them have (bits) that are exceptional.This is my first diesel. I've always felt that diesel fans were either deaf or had no sense of smell (or both) This one has completely changed my opinion. It just goes like stink - doesn't smell like it!
Happy, happy torque!
Graeme.
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Graeme,
Mines now on 10,000 miles and you only relly notice the engine noise when all the "sport" butons are pressed.
And yes MLC I know that sport is an oxymoron in this case
regards
Vercin
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Hi Vercin
That's interesting, I haven't noticed any difference in engine noise while in 'Sport' mode. I thought the button just altered the suspension programming. Does it also have some control over the engine tuning?
Graeme.
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I think sport mode applies to the auto gearbox as well as the suspension.
I drove a 2.2 HDI auto and loved the engine and gearbox, loads of power, but I didn't try it in sport mode.
Ben
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