Engine emissions from internal combustion engines include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and formaldehyde. Hydrocarbons are also produced and contribute to global warming. Vehicles are now built to reduce engine carbon emissions, with methods including limiting fuel in the mixture, returning hydrocarbons to the engine, and using catalytic converters. The US Environmental Protection Agency regulates engine emissions and has reduced unburned hydrocarbon emissions by 85%. The Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990 has also helped to reduce engine emissions.
Engine emissions are gases and particles that are expelled by an engine or other mechanical device. The particles are small dust particles. Internal combustion engines, such as those used in vehicles, emit emissions from the engine exhaust, fuel tank, and the engine itself. Car exhaust is made up of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and formaldehyde. The exhaust also contains particles and water vapor.
Engines also produce hydrocarbons when fuel is not consumed efficiently. Hydrocarbons are compounds that are made of carbon and hydrogen. Methane is a hydrocarbon and is a greenhouse gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect.
Greenhouse gases, such as methane, accumulate in Earth’s atmosphere and become a barrier that traps heat near the planet’s surface; This is the greenhouse effect. Hydrocarbons are also believed to contribute to global warming. Global warming is the alteration of a planet’s temperature, affecting weather patterns, climates, crops, and diseases. Vehicles are now built with reducing engine carbon emissions in mind.
The fuel tank and carburetor are insulated to limit the amount of fuel vapor they exude. The carburetor is a device that supplies the engine with a mixture of air and fuel. When the engine is not in use, fuel vapors flow into a canister containing activated carbon. The charcoal absorbs the fuel vapors. These vapors are exhausted into the combustion chamber and are destroyed when the engine is started.
Vehicle engine emissions are controlled in three ways. The first controls and limits the amount of fuel in the mixture injected by the carburetor. This ensures that more fuel is consumed, as it helps to reduce the amount of by-products produced and the resulting emissions. The second method of engine control allows hydrocarbons to be returned to the engine to be consumed by the combustion process. Finally, the catalytic converter provides hydrocarbons and particulates with additional area to be consumed and destroyed.
The catalytic converter helps reduce emissions of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is vested with the authority to regulate engine emissions, as well as monitor air quality in general. The EPA issued a federal regulation that required all automakers to equip cars with catalytic converters, and in doing so, reduced unburned hydrocarbon emissions by 85%.
In the United States, the Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990 has helped to effectively reduce engine emissions. Large engines and automobiles are burning fuels more efficiently, and their contributions to air pollution have been greatly reduced. The smaller engines are also being improved and their fuel efficiency increased. Therefore, those contributions to pollution have also been reduced.
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