Over the past several decades, the state of our planet’s environmental health has become a critical concern that is never far from our public consciousness. It has become one of the most important and divisive issues facing our society today, swaying the results of national policies, laws, and elections every year. Regardless of political affiliation, most would agree that something must be done to ease the damage being done to our oceans, forests, and other valuable ecosystems by humanity’s wasteful and irresponsible means of energy production. The most obvious cause of our currently deteriorated environmental state is the transportation industry, the primary source of excessive carbon monoxide and other pollutants in our air that cause the greenhouse effect and depletion of our planet’s precious ozone layer. But as our civilization continues to expand, the requirement for mass transportation of people and goods is still paramount. We cannot simply return to an agrarian society because of the environmental damage we have already done. We must continue forward, but some things need to change about the way we conduct ourselves. As our needs for reliable transportation have grown, so has the need for clean burning fuel become more important than ever. Fortunately, the transportation industry has already taken great leaps in our understanding of pollutants and how these harmful emissions can be reduced in our use of diesel engines, and technology has followed suit. By being conscious of your diesel engine’s maintenance needs, you are not only saving yourself the headache of encountering a serious problem down the road, but also doing yourself and the rest of the world a favor by contributing to the continuing effort of saving our planet and restoring our depleted resources.
Concern for the negative impact that we have had on our environment is nothing new, even within the transportation industry. Regulations for diesel emission standards have existed since the early 1970s, but these standards largely relied on the existing technology. Without significant technological advancement, these regulations were only a temporary fix to delay further pollution at best – only so much could be done with the technology of the time. But since then, many developments have been implemented in diesel engines that have since allowed us to reduce our output levels of environmental pollution. Diesel engines have always been a more efficient option when discussing the levels of harmful carbon dioxide gas leaked into our environment by automobiles, producing less of the harmful toxin than traditional gasoline engines do. However, diesel engines do yield a higher level of harmful particulates into the air, so making sure that your diesel engine is well maintained and up to modern standards of performance is critical. As diesel engines do not utilize complete combustion of the fuel, the use of low quality fuels can release harmful soot and particulates that put the engine, environment, and human health at risk. Fortunately, most modern diesel engines now require purer fuel with a lower sulphur content to function properly, resulting in more fuel efficiency and control of emission standards today. However, particulates do still escape, but with proper engine maintenance these hazards to your health and the environment can be greatly reduced.
Making sure that your diesel engine is kept in good working order does not just benefit you financially, but also helps assure that the developments in diesel engine emissions were not implemented in vain. Cleaner fuel may be the new standard, but that alone is not enough to reduce our negative environmental impact. Another requirement to meet modern emission standards, the introduction of the diesel particulate filter (or DPF) has been an important factor in the developments for both environmental safety and the transportation industry alike. As the name suggests, the primary purpose of these devices is to filter out harmful particulates from diesel exhaust and to stop them from escaping the engine and into our air. This is just one of many reasons why keeping your engine’s maintenance schedule regular is so important. By keeping a clean particulate filter, you greatly increase your diesel engine’s performance while simultaneously reducing your carbon footprint. While some types of diesel particulate filters are meant to be used once and thrown away once they become too dirty, many now rely on a process known as filter regeneration to keep themselves clean and working efficiently. After trapping soot from the combustion and injection of highly pressurized fuel, the engine then heats the filter and exhaust to the temperatures required for combustion. This process not only reduces the periods between required filter maintenance, but also increasing fuel efficiency by recycling the soot on a filter when it has become full. The more soot being reappropriated by the engine itself, the less that escapes into our atmosphere.
For certain, the years of wanton burning of fossil fuels have taken a toll on our planet, but it is not too late to change our ways if just learn to evolve our technology along with our attitudes about environmental responsibility. Due to the growing environmental concerns raised over pollution and industrialization, it has become more important than ever that we take the necessary steps, no matter how small and gradual, towards becoming responsible for improving the state of our planet. Even the state of your vehicle’s engine could have a significant effect on the future of the Earth. The use of diesel particulate filters in many diesel engines has shown to be effective in not only improving a vehicle’s performance, but also by lowering its harmful emissions. However, we still have to do our part as well. But even with our current understanding of our environmental impact, we must still remain conscious that the future of the planet is in our hands, and we can only save it by being responsible with our diesel fuel habits.
