By ALAN OHNSMAN AND JOHN LIPPERT
BLOOMBERG NEWS

To view Honda's U.S. patent for its diesel exhaust system,see http://patft1.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.htm and type in patent number 7,043,902.

(Original publication: May 28, 2006)



Honda Motor Co., aiming to build the first diesel car that meets pollution rules across the U.S., patented a new method to curb smog-forming gases.

The tailpipe emission of nitrous oxides has clouded diesel's appeal in the U.S., the world's biggest auto market. Honda is betting that the new technology will win customers attracted by the greater fuel economy and faster acceleration of diesel cars.

In Honda's treatment system, exhaust flows through a plasma reactor, or gaseous layer of electrically charged atoms, according to a U.S. patent. The reactor separates out harmful nitrogen oxides and forms nitrogen dioxide that's then reduced or absorbed by alkali metals and silver.

"If they can get it out there, it's an engineering tour-de-force," said Robert Weber, who analyzes exhaust systems for Tiax LLC, a Cambridge, Mass.-based consulting firm.

No automaker has built a diesel-powered car that can meet pollution rules in California and some Northeast states, which are tougher than federal requirements. DaimlerChrysler AG and Volkswagen AG, the largest sellers of diesel autos, are working on systems that would meet the stricter rules by squirting urea, an ammonia-based chemical found in urine, on diesel fumes.

Diesel emissions, including nitrogen oxides and other harmful gases, have been linked to cancer, asthma and lung and heart disease.

Honda aims to sell a U.S. diesel model by 2009, five years after introducing its first such car in Europe. The company hasn't said which models will be available with its new engine. Takeo Fukui, Honda's president, said May 23 that diesels may eventually be available in the U.S. in the Odyssey minivan and Acura MDX sport-utility vehicle.

Diesel vehicles can travel as much as 30 percent farther on a gallon of fuel than gasoline-powered cars, Ed Cohen, Honda's Washington-based government affairs official, said this month.

Diesels are also appealing because they generally have more torque, allowing vehicles to surge forward from a standing stop. Six-cylinder diesels can provide as much torque as V-8 gasoline engines, said Simon Godwin, DaimlerChrysler's regulatory affairs manager in Washington.

David Iida, a spokesman for Honda's U.S. unit, declined to comment on the contents of the 19-page patent, issued on May 16, the day before the company announced plans for a U.S. diesel.

Diesel vehicles were 3.2 percent of new light vehicle sales in the U.S. in 2005, according to J.D. Power & Associates.


source : thejournalnews.com

 

This sounds cool. Wonder how this compares to Mercedes-Benz Bluetec Diesel engines. Those are incredibly clean as well.

 

I wonder how well this will do in combatting the issue with sulfur in the diesel. Normally, sulfur is good at keeping vehicles cool and I know some people with diesel RVs in Mexico who claim the high sulfur diesel Pemex gas actually makes their RVs run smoother. However, with regard to pollution, it really stinks. Great idea Honda.

 

I remember those... can't wait to see those come out

It's pretty funny that this is up top in this forum right above the thread about VW dropping their diesel models

 

well, like this one, bluetec is currently not in production.
And unlike this one, Bluetec due to the need to be replenished, Bluetec might not get approved by EPA...

 

There are a number of projects being worked on right now to improve diesel exhaust...( see my post in the thread on the dropping of VW diesels ) ...and this is just one of them. The main factors are going to be low-sulfur fuel, new urea-injection technology, and the design of the injectors themselves.
Unlike the attempt of this article to suggest so, however, the main diesel pollution problems, though, are not HC or NOX-related....NOX is not what produces the black cloud of visible particulates, or " soot " you see coming out of the pipes on hard acceleration. That is a different matter altogether.

 

Too much sulfur in the fuel will make the exhaust gas smell just like the result of eating too many of those Mexican Burritos.

 

soot is unburnt fuel possibly, my theory is diesel engines having no spark plugs dont burn the fuel fast enough at higher rpms without have ignition assist which is why diesels have lowsy top end power

 

The Magna or Diesel fuel sold down here smells like rotten eggs big time.