The true cost of Diesel?

Not Done It Yet, My comments may appear negative but they were referenced to the commitment of our politicians that the changeover date would be 2040, that appears to be unrealistic bearing in mind the huge financial resources that would be required. My reference to hybrid vehicles doesn't have to rely on our diminishing oil reserves which are rapidly running out and are finite, hydrogen hybrids are already a realistic prospect using hydrogen which can easily be produced using solar energy with the bonus of only producing H2O as a pollutant. My belief is that pure electric traction is not achievable within the timescale our politicians have decreed and will have to be modified to be practicable.

Dave

@SillyOldDuffer,

If they manage to work out technology how to exploit methane hydrates deposits, Peak Oil may well become irrelevant for many decades.

Peak oil and related troubles may well progress in some weird way. Prices of oil might fall and yet only few will be able to afford it.

What we are observing right now is an economic collapse. So called "West" seems to be privilidged in this competition. It remains to be seen if Asia can win and transform to more sustainable economy before lights are off.

Martin

Hello Silly Old Duffer, how long have we got before the lights go out?

Dave

I didn't mention "diesel fuel". It was the compression ignition engine that Herr Diesel invented. Thus a compression ignition engine running on petrol (or any other fuel such as the paraffin/ether/castor oil mixture we used to use in model aircraft engines) is a Diesel engine.

Russell

It should be noted that a hydrogen fueled IC engine can produce NOx just as well as a fossil fueled one... Hydrogen is also an expensive energy source at this time, being produced from fossil fuels.

Edited By Mark Rand on 06/11/2017 19:45:35

Call it what you like, a car running on Petrol is a Petrol engine to everyone else.

Air contains 78% nitrogen so why NOx so bad?

NOx dissolves in water to produce acid, Nitrogen doesn't

Vic - a compression ignition engine runs on what is known in the subject of heat engines as the diesel cycle, named after Rudolf Diesel who designed it, so Russel and Neil very correctly pointed out that it is a diesel engine and that it doesn't have to run on diesel to be called a diesel engine, it can use many different fuels as well as diesel fuel.

Look in the field of model aeroplanes, plenty of very small engines there are called diesel engines as they are compression ignition engines. They do not have a spark plug and fire as a result of the heat of the compression igniting the fuel/air mixture, whatever fuel that happens to bel They do not run on diesel fuel as you seem to understand it but on a fuel that is a mix of ether, kerosene, castor oil and a dash of isopropyl nitrate, which fuel is also, in the model airplane world, known as diesel fuel.

It is not a question of called it what we like but of calling it correctly for what it is - a diesel engine.

Chris

So a petrol fueled deisel engine then.

:0)

Nope, a petrol fuelled Diesel engine

I apologise.

Oxford are aiming to be first with their ICE ban in 2020:

**LINK**

Only a few city centre streets to start but it’s planned to gradually extend it.

Oxford is probably top of the list of car unfriendly cities, I am sure they would not want to lose this ranking by not being the first to turn the screw some more. I usually go to Reading.

Mike

Vintagengineer, I like your cartoon. It's not that electric cars are cleaner than petrol or diesel, but a reflection on the fact that we are never presented with the full facts.

Mike - precisely!

Being cynical I think the car manufacturers are behind the push for electric cars.

If it was cheap enough to make and good enough to turn a profit they'd sell you a tricycle.

None required, but thank you nevertheless