R.+Stacey+Diesel+fuel

Starting in 2000, hybrids and other alternative fuel cars were sold. Now, car companies are working and have come up with Ultra-low sulfur diesel and biodiesel fuel. Ultra-low sulfur diesel has less sulfur, which means that it burns in a cleaner way and releases less Nitrogen oxides. A diesel engine:
 * To control diesel emmisions, the diesel engine has:particulate Traps which collect particulate matter as the exhaust gases pass through and can reduce particulate emissions by 80-90 percent using a catalytic reaction or an auxiliary heating element.
 * And, the engine has Catalytic Converters - use a chemical reaction to convert emissions into harmless substances. Some catalysts - such as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) devices and NOx absorbers - focus on nitrogen oxides and can reduce these emissions by 25-50 percent.

Diesel is the world’s most efficient internal combustion engine – returning 20 to 40 percent greater fuel efficiency than comparable gasoline engines. In 2000, we had 300,000 cars powered by diesel fuel; this rate has increased by 80% to 550,000 in 2005. Many analysts expect this to continue. “Researchers at J.D. Power and Associates predict that diesel sales will triple in the next 10 years, growing to more than 10% of U.S. vehicle sales by 2015 - up from 3.6% in 2005”. If we continue this trend and reduce our use of petroleum consumption, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that America could save up to 1.4 million barrels of oil per day, which is equivalent to the oil we import from Saudi Arabia, and that is when 1/3 of cars in the United States, pickup trucks and SUVs are diesel powered.

“As of 2007, exhaust from a clean diesel truck or bus is so clean that it would take 60 new trucks to equal the soot emissions of one truck sold in 1988. By 2010, truck and bus emissions levels will be near zero – a total reduction of 98% from 1988. The EPA predicts that these new trucks, once they fully replace the existing fleet, will reduce emissions of smog-forming gases by 2.6 million tons each year and cut soot emissions by 110,000 tons annually.

Similar levels of emissions improvement will phase in for diesel construction and agricultural equipment within the next decade; for locomotive and marine vessels shortly thereafter”.
 * Gas station providers that currently use diesel fuel include: Chevron, Conoco, ExxonMobil, Shell and Texaco



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