Honda develops groundbreaking diesel engine, emissions on par with gasoline engines

In what stands to be as large an accomplishment as their CVCC engine from 1974, Honda has announced a next generation diesel engine which meets tough emissions regulations and runs as clean as a gasoline engine, the automaker says.

(Photo: Honda)

The CVCC engine was the first gasoline engine to meet 1970 US emissions standards without a catalytic converter, while the new diesel powerplant will meet the Tier 2 Bin 5 US regulations without using urea. The magic weapon against emissions from diesel engines made by other manufacturers, urea is a liquid applied to exhaust systems to control NOx emissions, although it needs to be periodically replenished.

"Just as the CVCC engine revolutionized the performance of gasoline engines, today we are paving the way to cleaner diesel engines," says Honda CEO Takeo Fukui.

(Photo: Honda)

In an incredible application of chemistry, the catalytic converter that Honda employs for diesel use works in three steps. First, in normal mode, the engine discharges NOx which is absorbed by platinum in the catalytic converter. Occasionally, the engine runs itself rich, creating a higher amount of [link  artid="99760"]hydrogen[/link] which reacts with the absorbed NOx to form ammonia. The ammonia is absorbed in the upper layer of the catalytic converter. This ammonia then reacts with the NOx in the exhaust when the engine returns to normal mode to reduce it to harmless nitrogen.

According to the Japanese automaker, its clean diesel engines will be released in the USA and Japan within 3 years.