Andrew Waterman
Period 5
April 9, 1998
Automobile Emissions and Air Pollution
The Problem
The automotive industry practically dominates the country, through
providing one-sixth of its jobs and allowing the transportation that runs life.
Americans have become so dependent on automobiles that any indication of necessary
change in the industry is met with harsh denial and opposition. Over the past
several decades, the truths about air pollution that results from automobiles have
become more and more apparent, and the need for change has become greater. Now, on
the brink of futuristic "hybrid" and "ZEV" cars entering the market, change seems
to be both practical and profitable. And no matter how America's dependency deals
with the problems, we are gaining much greater knowledge and understanding of the
possibilities for decreasing the emission of harmful pollutants.
The Emissions
The problems inherent to automobile transportation stem from the use of
gasoline for power. The burning of cheap, ordinary gasoline gives off primarily
three pollutants: hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen oxides
(NO). These products contribute greatly to smog, ozone, cancer, lung disease,
illness, and the greenhouse effect. In cities such as Los Angeles, California, the
problem is extremely apparent as the city is covered in smog much of the time.
Ozone, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides all take away from people's health
through destroying tissue, inducing breathing problems, and sometimes leading to
cancer.
While the dangers of air pollution are clear still, the industries have
been making significant improvements compared to the 1960s, when no attempt was
made to limit automotive air pollution. The number of automobiles on the road is
increasing by the year. And still, hydrocarbon emissions are down almost 98% from
1960s levels, while carbon monoxide levels are down 96% and nitrogen oxides are
down 90%. Smog and air quality levels are changing for the better in major cities.
The pollution from automobiles is actually coming from only a small group of
"grossly polluting", newer cars, however, as about 10% of cars on the road are
accounting for 50% of all harmful emissions put out by automobiles. Studies and
analysis shows that, in fact, automobiles are becoming less of the major
contributor to air pollution. Instead, other fuel-driven, stationary systems--
including factories and oil refineries- are becoming the predominate contributors
to harmful emissions. The extremely high emissions levels of airplanes and
airports are also gaining concern, as in airports like the Los Angeles
International Airport (LAX) where airplane-produced emissions are one of the
largest sources of smog in the entire city. Questions also arise about the
emissions produced by such accessories as air conditioners within cars, and how one
can discern where the problem is truly located and should be corrected. While
there still remains a clear problem with automobile-produced emissions into the
air, the efforts for change will be cheaper and more effective if directed toward
the other harmful, emission-producing systems.
The Government
To direct the corrections of problems in the emission-producing
industries,
the California government has been the forerunner in enacting
legislation. The
Clean Air Act of 1988, seeking to decrease emission levels of carbon monoxide and
other gases, imposes regulation onto businesses to meet certain limits of pollution
output for the products they develop. Within the next several years, the Act's
primary goals are: 1) To decrease automobile pollution by 60%; 2) To decrease
industrial plant toxic air emissions by 90%; 3) To supply cleaner gasoline in
already-polluted cities; 4) To decrease sulfur dioxide (acid rain) emissions from
coal-burning electrical plants by 50%.
To meet these limits, automobile manufacturers are making significant
developments
to decrease emissions and increase fuel-efficiency. They are striving to produce
vehicles with emission levels ranging from half the current average car level to
zero emission. To accomplish this, the industry is turning toward either combining
both an electrical battery and an internal combustion engine in "hybrid" vehicles,
or an electrical battery and motor to achieve a zero emission level. Other
mechanisms, including "anti-pollution" spark plugs, "pre-stratified charge
systems", newly designed four-stroke engines, or innovative exhaust gas
recirculation systems, are also being developed to increase the fuel efficiency and
decrease the emissions of current cars on the market.
The Alternatives
Aside from modifying the use of ordinary gasoline to decrease emissions, a
somewhat more promising tactic is the conversion to other chemicals for fuel.
Methanol, petroleum, natural gas, and electricity could all be theoretically
utilized with less cost, less emissions, and more efficiency than ordinary
gasoline. Both methanol and petroleum would yield 50% less emissions and 10% more
horsepower than ordinary gasoline in automobiles, but for a 10-20% decrease in
cost. Electricity could be used for one-third of gasoline's cost, and producing
zero harmful emissions, yet would cause more pollution to be produced at wherever
the electricity was initially acquired.
The most promising conversion, for numerous reasons, is the use of natural
gas. Its use would be cheaper than that of gasoline. The conversion of natural
gas into a liquid form, using the Fischer-Tropsch process of synthesis into
"syngas" with oxygen, leads to a diesel form with less emission than even the newly
reformulated diesel fuel. Compared to gasoline, natural gas would yield 30% less
nitrogen oxide, 75% less carbon dioxide, 80% less hydrocarbons, and 95% less carbon
monoxide. It has a higher ignition temperature, 1300¡F rather than 800¡F for
gasoline, causing less leakage and undesired evaporation into the air during
transport. There is 22% more natural gas stored in the Earth than there is
ordinary gasoline currently, and even nicer, there is enough natural gas stored in
the United States to satisfy 93% of the country's needs. In some places in
California and elsewhere, natural gas is being utilized in conjunction with diesel
fuel. If the conversion is to be made in complete, the government and people will
have to first supercede the major oil corporations, who hold all major patents on
fuels competitive to ordinary gasoline. Fortunately, with government coercion and
profitability from increased efficiency, one can be confident that eventually the
conversion for the better will be made.
The Future
The problems that air pollution and harmful emissions entail are complex
and varied. However, with government legislation, increasing knowledge of the
bigger picture, and the ability to profit from shifts toward less pollution, the
harmful effects of emissions will eventually be abandoned in favor of cleaner,
safer, and more efficient means of gaining energy from nature.
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