With leading commercial vehicle manufacturer Force Motors quoting that there are unscientific and “ill-founded prejudices” against diesel-powered commercial vehicles and diesel engines in India, it’s time we look into how the fuel is viewed and whether or not there exists a certain prejudice around the fuel.
The Petrol vs. Diesel Debate: Environmental Context
While the typical petrol vs. diesel debate revolves around prices and mileage, there is a major portion of people who tend to drag the debate on the context of which fuel amongst the two is cleaner. And even though being conscious of the environment is a good thing, taking sides based on half-knowledge isn’t a good thing to do at all!
In fact, the very question of which amongst the two fuels pollute the most is a flawed question to ask. This is because people aren’t themselves clear as to which type of pollution the question is talking about. Is it fine particles, or greenhouse gases?
Without asking the correct questions, for years diesel has been prejudiced as a more polluting fuel options, giving birth to deeply rooted bias against the fuel throughout the nation. Without looking into the well-founded scientific arguments, diesel engines and diesel vehicles both in the commercial and private spheres are looked down upon, with even the state and central authorities doing their best to persuade OEMs into ditching the diesel burner. But what’s the real deal then you might ask. Well, here is it.
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The Reality
When it comes to emissions, especially CO2 and greenhouses gases, it is a well-proven fact that diesel engines emit less CO2 and Greenhouse gases when compared to petrol engines. And if this fact comes as a shock to you, we are happy to say that your prejudice is now broken!
The major reason behind this fact is based on the internal efficiency of a diesel engine. Diesel as used in a diesel engine has a higher compression ratio when compared to petrol leading to better performance which in itself is a known fact. As a result, lesser fuel is consumed to travel the same distance, allowing diesel engines to emit lesser CO2 and Greenhouse gases per trip. At a very general level, it is estimated that diesel engines emit about 10% less than their petrol counterparts of the same capacity.
But when the question revolves around the spread of fine particles such as PM2.5, PM 10 or NO2 etc., then Diesel burners tend to be outperformed by petrol engines that emit fewer fine particles. This is because diesel engines require large amounts of air for fuel combustion that leads to more chemical reactions, leading to more particulate emission.
Among these pollutants are dioxides and nitrogen oxides, gases and fine particles, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethane, and ethylene. However, as technology evolved, diesel burners were fitted with advanced particulate filters that took away as much as 90 to 95% of the particulate matter.
Checkout: 10 Reasons To Choose Diesel Over Petrol For Your Next Car
The Recent Times
With newer technology coming in even for petrol engines, advancements like “direct injection” that uses a spray of fuel directly into the cylinder have significantly increased the amount of particulate emission in petrol engines.
And if such technologies continue to be developing, it is possible that a petrol engine’s particulate emission can match its diesel counterpart someday in the future. In fact, the BS6 emission norm imposes the same particulate matter limit of 4.5 mg/km for both petrol as well as diesel, throwing light on the fact that petrol burners have almost matched diesel in terms of PM emission.
With such data in hand, it is unexplained why the government as well as the general public prejudice diesel engine as being more polluting and harmful for the overall environment. At a time when fuel prices are surging well over the 100 Rupee mark, completely doing away with diesel will only lead to an overall increase in transportation, services and freight costs, especially in the commercial sector, where diesel burner dominates.
Must Read: India Gets Uniform PUC (Pollution Under Control) Norms
The Bottom Line
There is no denying the fact that diesel has been prejudiced and looked down upon for many years throughout the nation. But the reality of the matter is that when it comes to saving the environment, the only “true” way forward is electric vehicles. And since EV adoption and infrastructure development will still take nothing short of a decade to completely come through, looking down upon diesel is totally unjustified.
Hoping that diesel would soon find the respect they deserve, stay pinned to the GoMechanic Blog for everything automotive.
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