Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Pickups Diesels Diesels in the News
8144 messages, Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 4:39 PM
You are in the Diesels Forum. Your Host is kcram
|
Thar's Gold In That Thar Diesel !!! Nanostellar, which specializes in molecules and materials for making diesel engines run more efficiently, has devised a new coating for the inside of catalytic converters--devices that reduce emissions before they leave a car's tailpipe--that will both cost less than traditional coatings and cut down further on pollution. The secret ingredient is gold, explained CEO Pankaj Dhingra. The company combines gold along with platinum and palladium into a material called NS Gold that car and auto parts makers will sprinkle into a new line of cleaner catalytic converters. Ideally, NS Gold will increase oxidation activity, i.e. the chemical reaction that reduces pollutants, by about 40 percent compared with conventional catalytic converters and about 20 percent compared with the converters treated with materials Nanostellar already sells. "At the nano level, gold becomes very active, but until now no one has been able to make it for automotive use," he said in an interview. "You have high temperatures, a huge amount of oxygen. At high temperatures most materials are not stable." Although gold at the nano level can assume different colors, NS Gold lives up to its name. At Nanostellar's lab, CNET News.com saw a beaker of the material swirling in a liquid. The mixture looked like the inside of an Orange Julius machine. |
|
|
Replying to: larsb (Apr 16, 2007 5:25 am) |
|
|
Here's an interesting press release: ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods Announce Strategic Alliance To Produce Next Generation Renewable Diesel Fuel HOUSTON and SPRINGDALE, Ark., April 16, 2007 --- ConocoPhillips [NYSE:COP] and Tyson Foods, Inc. [NYSE:TSN] will announce a strategic alliance at 12 p.m. CDT today to produce and market the next generation of renewable diesel fuel, which will help supplement the traditional petroleum-based diesel fuel supply. The alliance plans to use beef, pork and poultry by-product fat to create a transportation fuel. This fuel will contribute to America’s energy security and help to address climate change concerns. Over the last year, the companies have been collaborating on ways to leverage Tyson’s advanced knowledge in protein chemistry and production with ConocoPhillips’ processing and marketing expertise to introduce a renewable diesel to the United States. Tyson will make capital improvements this summer in order to begin pre-processing animal fat from some of its North American rendering facilities later in the year. ConocoPhillips also will begin the necessary capital expenditures to enable it to produce the fuel in several of its refineries. The finished product will be renewable diesel fuel mixtures that meet all federal standards for ultra-low-sulfur diesel. Production is expected to ramp up over time to as much as 175 million gallons per year of renewable diesel. “We are firmly committed to leveraging our leadership position in the food industry to identify and commercialize renewable energy opportunities,” said Richard L. Bond, Tyson president and chief executive officer. “This strategic alliance is a big win for the entire agricultural sector because it paves the way for greater participation of fats and oils in renewable fuels.” “ConocoPhillips believes the key to a secure energy future is the development and efficient use of diverse energy sources,” said Jim Mulva, ConocoPhillips chairman and chief executive officer. “This alliance will provide a new and significant contribution to our nation’s domestic renewable fuel supply. It also offers an excellent opportunity to use our company’s manufacturing expertise and advanced technology to help increase the supply of renewable fuels and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.” Using a proprietary thermal depolymerization production technology, the animal fats will be processed with hydrocarbon feedstocks to produce a high-quality diesel fuel that meets all federal standards for ultra-low-sulfur diesel. The addition of animal fat also improves the fuel’s ignition properties, while the processing step improves its storage stability and handling characteristics. Investments made by ConocoPhillips and Tyson will allow for the processing and handling of fat and enhance the ability of the United States to produce energy from a variety of sources, including domestically-produced vegetable oils. The processing technology was developed at ConocoPhillips, culminating in a successful test at the company’s Whitegate Refinery in Cork, Ireland. ConocoPhillips began commercial production of renewable diesel using soybean oil in Ireland late last year. This alliance is expected to be a positive step for Tyson’s long term financial performance. “Production is expected to begin in late calendar year 2007, ramping up through spring 2009,” Bond said. “Once at full production, we currently project between $0.04 and $0.16 cents per share in additional annual earnings. However, this will be driven by factors such as the prices of wholesale diesel and animal fat." Benefits of Renewable Diesel Produces lower life-cycle carbon emissions Increases energy security by using a domestic and renewable energy source Can be used in today’s vehicles. Can be produced and distributed with existing refineries and fuel distribution systems Refinery quality control systems ensure product quality BTW- diesel engines typically last longer simply because there is less stress at work in the engine. Lower revs = less work on the part of the engine. Also fewer moving parts in a diesel engine therefore fewer parts to break. |
|
|
Replying to: bristol2 (Apr 16, 2007 8:14 am) I can see it now. "A Tyson chicken in every Tank". 
|
|
|
Replying to: bristol2 (Apr 16, 2007 8:14 am) i don't know if i would call it less stress. Yes, the lower revs help, but the extremely high compression ratio does not. One of the reasons for their longevity is that they are built to survive those high compression ratios.
|
|
|
Replying to: qbrozen (Apr 16, 2007 8:59 am) On a more macro level, I literally had to look for a small needle in a HUGEhaystack to find this information: the design life for a TDI is 25,000 hours at 80% (constant) load. It is also close to a state secret what the normal design life for a gasser would be. That would fall under the category of a doz huge haystacks with only one needle- and a small one at that. |
|
|
Chrysler Diesel Push quote- As the auto industry moves toward more fuel efficient, cleaner vehicles, there's a cluster of automotive, environmental, and energy experts rooting for the diesel engine. Perhaps their biggest challenge is to convince drivers that today's diesels aren't the slow, noisy, smelly diesels of the past. A leading voice in that effort is DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group, which in January started producing its second diesel vehicle for North America. Hitting dealerships soon is a diesel version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. This comes after the automaker sold more than it expected of the diesel Jeep Liberty last year, Robert Lee, vice president of powertrain product engineering for DCX, told more than 100 people at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress on Monday at Cobo Hall. The Liberty diesel was an experiment to see if consumers would be willing to pay an extra $1,500 for a diesel vehicle. It worked well enough for Chrysler to release the diesel Grand Cherokee, which costs an extra $3,000, and is expected to save drivers $592 a year on fuel. Diesels make up less than 0.5% of the cars produced in North America — though a greater percentage of trucks. By 2015, diesel car production expected to increase to 15% and 18% by 2020, according to estimates from the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. Offering an average of 30% better fuel efficiency than gasoline engines, diesels are a good gasoline alternative for highway driving, compared to a hybrid, which is ideal for stop-and-go city traffic, said Jim Eberhardt, a scientist with the Department of Energy.....end quote How about offering the Chrysler 300 Touring Diesel (Magnum in Chryler guise that is sold in Europe) for the USA?
|
|
|
Hmm, this is only indirectly related with diesels, but in any case it is a promising piece of news that deserves to be followed up. "A Spanish research team has reported today that it is successfully developing a process in order to efficiently produce petrol from algae. Such a process will consume atmospheric CO2 instead of 02. The end-product should be gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, plastics, etc... even coal." We will see, cautiously thoug with hope. Regards, Jose |
|
|
A review of the 2007 ML320 CDI. ML320 CDI |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: bristol2 (Apr 16, 2007 8:14 am) Economically The "surplus" animal fat available to produce diesel fuel will be immediately absorbed in the demand stream. The increased use of dead animal fat will then produce an additional up stream demand that has the effect of increasing the marginal rate of profit of animal production and therefore increase production itself. As producing animals for any purpose creates an additional demand for animal feed, this development will also drive that demand. Any increase in the growing load on the available farm land increases the cost of food for all consumption, animal or human. It will concomittantly increase the the use of water, which is in increasingly short supply, and also that of fertilizer which is largely fossil fuel dependent. Additionally, feed lot methane production, a green house gas, will be increased, ground water pollution from animal waste and chemicals, now down to the third level aquifers, will also become worse. The poluted water will become increasingly more costly and energy dependent to clean up, to the extent that it can be at all. I am sure that the corporations, who are the chief beneficiaries of this diesel petroleum scheme, will be more than happy to address the un-recognized costs of their enterprise. And that is only the tip of the ice berg. There don't seem to be any free lunches. |
|
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
