Smoggy thinking on pollution

americanthinker.com ^ | 5/6/2015 | Viv Forbes

[rktman]

The war on hydrocarbon fuels is based on two feeble legs – “it causes global warming, and it creates pollution.” 

Both legs are unsound, especially the pollution claims. 

No sensible person approves of pollution of air, water, land, or public places by humans.

 Have a look at some real pollution.


But no pollution whatsoever is caused by the main product of the combustion of hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide. This is a colorless, non-toxic gas of life on which all plants (and animals) depend.

 In these days of carbon neurosis, coal power gets blamed for all bad things, even the Asian Smog.

[rktman]

Heretic. You will be made to pay for denying settled science. The ELFs will be watching you, you erf hater. Maybe even the erf just-us league too. How dare you blame "pollution" on innocent dust particles. :>}

[ChessExpert]

Interesting article. I also liked the videos, especially the one on modern coal-fired electrical plants.

[rktman]

OH. Another denier huh? LOL!

[Ben Ficklin]

Burning gasoline or diesel in an ICE creates NOx, which reacts with VOCs to produce Ozone. If you live in an attainment area, you have to have your tailpipe tested to make sure your auto emission controls are working.

Ozone is a very contentious issue right now because Obama/EPA may lower the level of ozone in the air below the 75 ppm that Bush set.

Also, burning fuel releases Sulfur and the refineries remove sulfur from gasoline. Sometime this year, the Tier 3 gasoline with even lower sulfur content is supposed to be coming on line, which will make gasoline cost more.

But we should not worry because in the coming years auto CAFE standards will be rising, which will lower tailpipe emissions of the traditional pollutants as well as CO2.

[__rvx86]

Burning gasoline is somewhat of a balancing act...burning lean will evolve NO_x, SO_x and O₃ species....burning rich will fail to consume the full hydrocarbon charge, resulting in soot/HC emissions...

Isn't there a wet-process catalyst, similar to the type used in newer distillate-burning engines, that could reduce emissions in gasoline engines?

[Ben Ficklin]

I don’t know the answer to your question.