Summary:

• Diesel engines are tremendously more efficient than gasoline engine and other counterparts, in terms of simple miles-per-gallon.

• A new line of diesel technology, which began appearing in the USA in roughly 1996, has drastically reduced harmful emissions from diesel engines.  This technology has been refined several times now to provide "Clean Diesel" technology that is currently available and is usually 50-state legal (even in emissions-stringent California).

• Biodiesel Motor Projects believes investment in diesel technology, primarily in the scarce passenger-vehicle sector in America, is the easiest and first major step for domestic manufacturers compete with foreign manufacturers who are offering more fuel-efficient models and are embracing new diesel technology (Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, etc) -- moreso than gasoline-electric hybrids.

• Diesel technology offers the first major step towards reduction of greenhouse gas from the passenger vehicles segment of the transportation sector.

Biodiesel Motor Projects is a strong proponent of diesel engine internal combustion technology because, quite simply, it is dramatically more efficient than gasoline internal combustion engines.

In the last few years, manufacturers have begun making drastic improvements in the efficiency, emissions quality, and overall performance of diesels in cars and trucks.  This new technology is called "Clean Diesel" and meets the emissions standards of all 50 states, even those of California, which has the most stringent air quality requirements of any state.  Secondly, we are also seeing drastic improvements in overall quality of diesel fuel itself, the primary reason diesels have traditionally been "ditry" including high particulate matter and sulfur dioxide emissions.

When diesels are compared to traditional gasoline engines, the most obvious ways they excel is in general fuel mileage, torque, and greenhouse gas emissions.  In the past there have been significant negative local and regional impacts from diesel emissions which are now being addressed by U.S. law and via new technology from diesel engine manufacturers.  Diesels are no longer a clear environmental problem and can now actually be part of the solution.

Though diesel typically has higher carbon content (which is usually bad for greenhouse gas emissions), the increased heat and pressure of the diesel engine compression-combustion process (diesels do not need a combustion aid like a spark plug) leads to a naturally increased overall efficiency. 

Furthermore, particularly in the last 10 years, the efficiency of the combustion process has been drastically increased using technology borrowed from gasoline-engine fuel injection systems: computers, on-board emissions and engine monitoring systems, fuel and injection timing control systems to better control the combustion process, and exhaust particulate removers and post-combustion catalyst chambers.  These technologies have now been refined several times now to a level of cutting edge emissions diesel performance technology called "Clean Diesel.” 

Likewise, diesel fuels can now be made from a variety of sources including agricultural (biodiesel) and fully synthetic diesels.  Diesel vehicles account for approximately 4% of the vehicles on the road currently, but about 1/6th of the fuel burned daily.  Diesel fuel almost exclusively powers the American industrial and commercial complexes.  Every product in America has been brought to the market with the assistance of diesel fuel.

Therefore, Biodiesel Motor Projects has taken the approach that we must act on one of the most critical environmental issues of our time, global warming (in addition to local and regional clean air issues), now, rather than wait for a panacea which may or may not ever happen.

Biodiesel Motor Projects believes that in order to solve environmental and emissions-related issues from automobiles, manufacturers must take a diversified approach including natural gas, electric-hybrid models, clean diesel, and biodiesel-powered clean diesel vehicles.  We strongly believe that municipalities, governments, and even environmental groups should embrace new diesel technologies as one of the most immediate solutions to global warming.  Not only is clean diesel technology is also one of the easiest-to-implement technologies for  the manufacturer and the consumer, it is also competitive with some of the other most-environmentally-friendly technologies currently on the market, even when running on fairly-dirty diesel fuel.  This technology, combined with the emissions effects of biodiesel, offers emissions and global warming solutions that often cannot currently be beat by other technologies.

The domestic biodiesel industry is slated to grow to several $billion in less than 10 years from now, nearly 5-fold what it is currently, and has been growing 200-400% each year as long as we have been following it.  One of the largest hindrances of the growth of the industry has been the lack of available diesel passenger-vehicle models, unlike in Europe, Japan, Australia, and other modern and industrial nations.  Use of biodiesel fuel offers not only upwards of 80% emissions reductions but complete elimination of Sulfur Dioxides, the #1 cause of acid rain in addition to city smog and many other regional emissions and smog problems.

Particularly in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, even slightly outdated diesel technology is right up there with cutting edge gasoline-hybrid, gasoline, and even compressed natural-gas vehicles. 
The following graph has modified from The Green Car Congress Web Site by Biodiesel Motor Projects to display the greenhouse gas reduction of a diesel engine running on biodiesel. Click here to read the complete article.  When even older diesel technologies are run on biodiesel, they still significantly beat other technologies, particularly with lower greenhouse gas emissions. 

For more information on biodiesel, click here read our article "Why Biodiesel?"