Given the variety of vehicles and their fuel sources, there has always been the doubt of What pollutes more diesel or gasoline?. It has always been said that diesel is more polluting, although it is not clear whether it is a myth or a reality.
For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you what pollutes more, diesel or gasoline.
Why do cars pollute?
In the case of ideal or stoichiometric combustion, that is, when the amounts of air and fuel (hydrocarbons) react completely, without excess or deficiency of one or the other, the products of this combustion are water vapor (H2O), nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2).
Now, of the three gases, nitrogen is the only one that does not cause any problems. It is a gas that does not participate in the combustion process, it exists only because it is the main constituent of the air we breathe and is therefore absorbed by the engine. As for water vapor, it can show up as white smoke on colder days, or even as a tiny droplet of water in your exhaust, and it's also a greenhouse gas (contrary to popular belief). However, its presence is much less harmful and worrying than carbon dioxide, since the total amount of water vapor on our planet stays about the same all the time, and heavy objects can quickly remove excess water vapor, rain or snow.
What pollutes more, diesel or gasoline?
Diesel and gasoline, the fuels used to run vehicles and machinery, have a great impact on the environment due to the gaseous emissions they produce, some more polluting than others. However, more and more environmentally friendly technologies are being developed, for example in the automotive industry it is betting on plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles to reduce the emission of polluting gases.
It is a bit difficult to say what pollutes more diesel or gasoline cars because each one pollutes differently. For example, if we compare two cars with the same characteristics, with the only difference being that one is a diesel car and the other a gasoline car, we will see that the diesel car emits fewer grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer traveled, but it emits less There are more harmful ingredients than diesel cars. One of gasoline.
However, With the advent of new filtration technologies for diesel engines, this difference has been minimized. All thanks to the new Euro 6 regulation, which makes the emissions of the rest of diesel pollutants similar to those of the Euro 4 gasoline regulation.
So it can be said that current gasoline and diesel cars pollute the same, but in a different way, because diesel cars emit less CO2 than gasoline cars, but they continue to emit more other pollutants, although not by as much difference as in previous years. .
What pollutants do diesel and gasoline engines emit?
We have already said that CO2 is one of the main pollutants emitted during combustion in engines that use these fossil fuels, so what are the polluting gases emitted by diesel and gasoline engines?
Polluting gases from diesel vehicles:
- nitrogen
- carbon dioxide
- water
- oxygen
- sulfur dioxide
- soot
- hydrocarbon
- nitric oxide
- carbon monoxide
Polluting gases from gasoline vehicles:
- nitrogen
- carbon dioxide
- water
- hydrocarbon
- nitric oxide
- carbon monoxide
How much pollution do gasoline cars have?
When it comes to pollution from gasoline-powered cars, we can say that the most significant difference between diesel and gasoline engines is the way the fuel is mixed with the air and how it is burned. They work differently, but neither is better than the other.
So how does gasoline affect the environment? This causes greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, to be released into the atmosphere. For every liter of gasoline consumed, 2,32 kilograms of carbon dioxide are emitted after traveling about 13 kilometers.
How much pollution do diesel cars pollute?
With the petrol engine issues somewhat clearer, we now clear up a few diesel related questions. How does diesel affect the environment? How much does a liter of diesel pollute?
The answer is that gas oil or diesel can have a negative impact on the environment at a level very similar to that of gasoline. In addition to CO2, diesel also emits other gases and particles that are harmful to the environment, such as SO2, NOx and soot. Diesel emits 2,6 kilograms of carbon dioxide per liter of about 16 kilometers.
Devices to reduce pollution
To reduce pollution from vehicle emissions, the automotive industry employs different equipment:
- AdBlue: It is an additive based mainly on urea that is injected into the exhaust gases before these gases reach the catalyst. Urea contains ammonia, and due to this and the high temperature of the catalyst, when NOx reacts, N2, CO2 and water vapor are produced.
- Catalyst: The purpose of this unit is to reduce those harmful substances that escape through catalytic (redox) reactions.
- NOx accumulators – Catalysts: As the name suggests, they are NOx storage catalysts that store NOx until regenerated and then removed. It seemed to complement the three-way catalysis.
- Particulate filter: It is used to retain soot particles produced during diesel combustion and then remove them by oxidation.
- EGR Gas Recirculation: This unit manages to reduce NOx emissions by approximately 50% by recirculating exhaust gases to the intake manifold when the engine is operating at partial load and operating temperature.
It is clear that other fossil fuels seriously pollute the environment, whether they are extracted or burned. However, oil and its derivatives are one of the most famous products because they have provided us with great advances in technology, transportation, and many other fields, and they also produce high levels of pollution. As we have already mentioned, both gasoline and gas oil or diesel are petroleum derivatives, both seriously pollute the environment, and both are equally harmful.
Therefore, it is necessary to use this type of vehicle in moderation and opt for public transport or electric vehicles, or at least hybrids.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about what pollutes more diesel or gasoline.