New Diesel Engines Are Finally Here and There Are More to Come

摘要

Internal-combustion engines were still novel in 1892, when German engineer Rudolf Diesel filed a patent for a compression-ignition engine running on fuel oil that rivaled contemporary spark-ignition gasoline technology. A litde more than a century later, his name is ubiquitous among heavy-duty vehicles worldwide, as diesel engines power 19 out of every 20 construction and utility machines in the field. But this success comes at a price. The traditional clattering, smoke-belching behemoths are heading for the boneyards as clean-air initiatives in the U.S. and abroad push a new generation of cleaner-running, more powerful motors into the marketplace, both on and off the road. By 2007, the efforts in the U.S. will reduce overall diesel emissions by more than 75%. "We believe emission standards to be technology forcing," says a top official with the Environmental Protection Agency, who believes that the next decade will require the most progressive fuel and engine refinements of all time. Once that level of success is achieved, "it would be hard for us to make more stringent standards." she savs.