Diesel emission requirements have choked our engines down to becoming much less than they could be. Whether you are pro or anti emission laws, they are here and the questions is how do we live them them?
Audi may have discovered a revolutionary technique to creating diesel that has high cetane, no aromatics and no sulfur. What does that mean?
- High cetane means good power
- No aromatics means reduction of hydrocarbons (HC) and Nitrous Oxides (NOx)
- No sulfur means almost no particulate matter (no black soot without a DPF)
How is this so?
The same Audi company that created “e-gas”, or really, a process that extracted hydrogen from water using electrolysis and then combined it with CO2 made by organic waste to form this new way to manufacture methane (got all that?), has done it again. The German company has now come up with “e-diesel” which is a CO2-neutral fuel that is made from materials such as air, water, and electricity.Using air capturing technology, developed by Climeworks, Audi can collect and contain carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Once the carbon dioxide is contained, using electrolysis (powered by green electricity), they then focus on separating the hydrogen and oxygen molecules from water. The now separated hydrogen meets up with the CO2 in a heated 220 degrees Celsius (428 F) and 25 bar (363 psi) compressed chamber and a new liquid is made called Blue Crude.
This highly ignitable fuel contains a high cetane number and is free of aromatics and doesn’t contain any sulfur. Blue Crude can also mix with fossil fuel in any ratio because of its chemical properties’ adaptability. Audi has said that its pilot plant in Dresden can produce up to 160 liters a day of the Blue Crude and that about 80% of that can be made into synthetic diesel.
As of right now there are no new plans for anymore plants as Audi is focused on the work being achieved from this pilot plant. With the advancements Audi has made so far, it will be interesting to see if in the next decade or two, if our fuels at the pump use some of this new technology to help with emissions.