Comments on: Is Diesel the Solution? http://www.2-speed.com/2008/07/is-diesel-the-solution/ Entrepreneurial Leadership and Management . . . and Other Stuff Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:28:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rob http://www.2-speed.com/2008/07/is-diesel-the-solution/#comment-29146 Rob Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:50:17 +0000 http://www.2-speed.com/2008/07/is-diesel-the-solution/#comment-29146 Interesting point about the refineries. I guess in Europe, the continued (and slow) popularity of diesel throughout the early 90's meant that there was still a demand for this fuel type. As the governments introduced more tax, more people switched over to get better mileage and that meant that the refineries were slowly able to switch over some of the production to diesel and hydrocracking really makes the most out of a barrel. Here the story really isn't so pretty. Consumer demand for higher mileage cars (and therefore a more efficient oil derivative) just hasn't been there because gasoline has been so ridiculously cheap. California and diesel production are stumbling blocks for diesel cars. A couple of manufacturers (VW and MB) now have 50 state legal TDIs on the market (using urea to allow them to be sold in CA), but the above problems described by Will here really won't allow it to take off. Such a shame as it really has many advantages. So maybe we're just headed down the hybrid and plugin path? Maybe hydrogen fuel cells? Maybe if we can finally crack Nuclear Fusion (that's Fusion, not Fission: http://science.howstuffworks.com/fusion-reactor.htm/printable), then we can get to the holy grail of energy production. Of course that may mean not having a government that has their fingers and shares in oil (oops - did I say that out loud - there goes the green card!). Diesel isn't the end solution; just a bridging alternative. Whatever happens, as long as we continue to make and run things like cars, we'll always be polluting and using energy. But switching to alternative and renewable sources of energy will really help our climate and national security. Acting now is a very sensible thing; go rent Mad Max for a sensational view about what the world might be when oil runs out and nobody has done anything to find an alternative. With the right leadership we will find a solution. Just remember the race for the atomic bomb and the space race. Get the biggest brains in the world together, get the government to firmly back them, pay them well and you'll get there. Getting government to act means instilling fear in them. Kudos to Al Gore et al for putting part of the message across. Interesting point about the refineries. I guess in Europe, the continued (and slow) popularity of diesel throughout the early 90’s meant that there was still a demand for this fuel type. As the governments introduced more tax, more people switched over to get better mileage and that meant that the refineries were slowly able to switch over some of the production to diesel and hydrocracking really makes the most out of a barrel. Here the story really isn’t so pretty. Consumer demand for higher mileage cars (and therefore a more efficient oil derivative) just hasn’t been there because gasoline has been so ridiculously cheap.

California and diesel production are stumbling blocks for diesel cars. A couple of manufacturers (VW and MB) now have 50 state legal TDIs on the market (using urea to allow them to be sold in CA), but the above problems described by Will here really won’t allow it to take off. Such a shame as it really has many advantages. So maybe we’re just headed down the hybrid and plugin path? Maybe hydrogen fuel cells? Maybe if we can finally crack Nuclear Fusion (that’s Fusion, not Fission: http://science.howstuffworks.com/fusion-reactor.htm/printable), then we can get to the holy grail of energy production. Of course that may mean not having a government that has their fingers and shares in oil (oops – did I say that out loud – there goes the green card!). Diesel isn’t the end solution; just a bridging alternative.

Whatever happens, as long as we continue to make and run things like cars, we’ll always be polluting and using energy. But switching to alternative and renewable sources of energy will really help our climate and national security.

Acting now is a very sensible thing; go rent Mad Max for a sensational view about what the world might be when oil runs out and nobody has done anything to find an alternative. With the right leadership we will find a solution. Just remember the race for the atomic bomb and the space race. Get the biggest brains in the world together, get the government to firmly back them, pay them well and you’ll get there. Getting government to act means instilling fear in them. Kudos to Al Gore et al for putting part of the message across.

]]> By: john bower http://www.2-speed.com/2008/07/is-diesel-the-solution/#comment-29088 john bower Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:33:59 +0000 http://www.2-speed.com/2008/07/is-diesel-the-solution/#comment-29088 Will, A couple of other points: Diesels appear to be more efficient than they actually are. The energy content of a gallon of diesel fuel is about 11% greater than gasoline, this makes a diesel "appear" to be a more efficient user of oil, than it really is. You can not get as many gallons of diesel fuel out of a barrel of oil as you can gasoline. Granted, the diesel engine is more efficient than a gasoline motor, but the extra energy content of diesel fools us into thinking it's better than it actually is. Second, despite low sulfar fuel (which reduces the acid rain problem), you still have the soot problem. The new diesels appear to be cleaner because they create a finer soot, so it's less visible, but many scientists are concerned that finer soot represents an even greater health problem than the old fashioned soot. Probably the most meaningful advantage of diesel engines to me is their potential for biodiesel conversion, which means our cars are getting their energy from a multiplicity of prime sources (petroleum, or biomass). One could argue that plug in hybrids do the same thing, in that some of their energy can come form other sources depending on the electric utilities source (nuclear, geothermal, wind, etc...). Will,

A couple of other points:

Diesels appear to be more efficient than they actually are. The energy content of a gallon of diesel fuel is about 11% greater than gasoline, this makes a diesel “appear” to be a more efficient user of oil, than it really is. You can not get as many gallons of diesel fuel out of a barrel of oil as you can gasoline. Granted, the diesel engine is more efficient than a gasoline motor, but the extra energy content of diesel fools us into thinking it’s better than it actually is.

Second, despite low sulfar fuel (which reduces the acid rain problem), you still have the soot problem. The new diesels appear to be cleaner because they create a finer soot, so it’s less visible, but many scientists are concerned that finer soot represents an even greater health problem than the old fashioned soot.

Probably the most meaningful advantage of diesel engines to me is their potential for biodiesel conversion, which means our cars are getting their energy from a multiplicity of prime sources (petroleum, or biomass). One could argue that plug in hybrids do the same thing, in that some of their energy can come form other sources depending on the electric utilities source (nuclear, geothermal, wind, etc…).

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