Diesel Engines Under Emission Pressure: Performance, Challenges, and Technological Solutions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61173/a4qqmc11Keywords:
Diesel gate, NOₓ emissions, SCR, diesel engine, emission controlAbstract
In 2015, the Dieselgate of Volkswagen diesel emission brought the emission problem of diesel engines into light, highlighting the gap between test results and real-world practice. The scandal draws international attention to environmental implications in terms of diesel engines, which are predominantly nitrogen oxides. However, diesel engines are still irreplaceably applied in some critical fields such as heavy-duty transportation, agricultural machinery, construction equipment, marine propulsion, military vehicles, and backup power generation, due to their high performance when it comes to torque, fuel efficiency, and durability. The essay reviews the basic structure of the diesel engine and its working mechanisms. With its imperative role, this essay focuses on the causes of pollution during combustion and potential emission filtration technologies, like Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), and Lean NOₓ Traps (LNT), that make it possible to significantly improve the quality of exhausted gas without harming its fundamental strengths. This essay also aims to determine whether diesel engines can continue to develop with the applied cleaning technology.
References
[1] Nykvist B, Nilsson M. Rapidly falling costs of battery packs for electric vehicles [J]. Nature Climate Change, 2015.
[2] Heywood J B. Internal Combustion Engine Fundamentals [M]. 2nd ed. New York: McGrawHill, 2018.
[3] Verbruggen F, Deblecker O, Franck G. Electric powertrain topology analysis and design for heavy-duty trucks: A parametric study [J]. Energy, 2020, 204: 117884.
[4] Gregory J. Thompson, Daniel K. Carder, Marc C. Besch, Arvind Thiruvengadam. West Virginia University Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines & Emissions. International Council on Clean Transportation. Volkswagen LightDuty Diesel Vehicle Defeat Device Findings [R]. ICCT, 2015
[5] Barrett S R H, Speth R L, Eastham S D, et al. Environmental and health impacts of the Volkswagen emissions scandal [J]. Environmental Research Letters, 2015, 10(11): 114005.
[6] Kampa M, Castanas E. Human health effects of air pollution [J]. Environmental Pollution, 2008, 151: 362–367.
[7] Li C, Zhao P. Numerical simulation and analysis of NOₓ formation in diesel combustion [J]. Transactions of CSICE, 2011, 29(4): 317–321.
[8] Hellen G (Chair), CIMAC Working Group 5. CIMAC. Guidelines for diesel engine exhaust gas NOₓ emissions control technologies [R]. Hamburg: CIMAC, 2008.
[9] Carslaw D C, Priestman M, Murrells T P, et al. Post- Dieselgate: Evidence of NOₓ emission reductions using onroad remote sensing [J]. Environmental Research Letters, 2020, 15(10): 104044.
[10] Majewski W A, Khair M K. Diesel Emissions and Their Control [M]. SAE International, 2006.
[11] Zhang Y, et al. Research on NOₓ Emissions Testing and Optimization Strategies for Diesel Engines. Atmosphere, 2023, 16(2): 190.
[12] Baskar P, Senthilkumar A. Effects of EGR on performance and emission characteristics of diesel engine [J]. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 2015, 54(4): 871–881.
[13] Johnson T V. Review of Diesel Emissions and Control Technologies [J]. SAE Technical Paper, 2009, 2009010121.
[14] Khair M K, Majewski W A. The pollutant emissions from dieselengine vehicles and exhaust aftertreatment systems [J]. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 2014, 16(3): 449–460.
[15] Xie Y, Posada F, Minjares R. Diesel sulfur content impacts on Euro VI sootfree vehicles [R]. ICCT, 2021.
[16] Hsu Y, Mullen M. Compilation of Diesel Emissions Speciation Data: Final Report. Prepared by E.H. Pechan & Associates, Inc. for Coordinating Research Council and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), October 2007.
[17] Kumar A, Li J, Luo J, Joshi S, et al. Catalyst Sulfur Poisoning and Recovery Behaviors: Key for Designing Advanced Emission Control Systems [R]. SAE Technical Paper 2017260133. SAE International, 2017.
[18] Lapuerta M, Armas O, Rodríguez-Fernández J. Effect of biodiesel fuels on diesel engine emissions [J]. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, 2008, 34(2): 198–223.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 by the authors.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
