Lean diesel technology and human health: a case study in six Brazilian metropolitan regions

OBJECTIVE: Due to their toxicity, diesel emissions have been submitted to progressively more restrictive regulations in developed countries. However, in Brazil, the implementation of the Cleaner Diesel Technologies policy (Euro IV standards for vehicles produced in 2009 and low-sulfur diesel with 50 ppm of sulfur) was postponed until 2012 without a comprehensive analysis of the effect of this delay on public health parameters. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the delay in implementing the Cleaner Diesel Technologies policy on health indicators and monetary health costs in Brazil. METHODS: The primary estimator of exposure to air pollution was the concentration of ambient fine particulate matter (particles with aerodynamic diameters, <2.5 mu m, [PM2.5]). This parameter was measured daily in six Brazilian metropolitan areas during 2007-2008. We calculated 1) the projected reduction in the PM2.5 that would have been achieved if the Euro IV standards had been implemented in 2009 and 2) the expected reduction after implementation in 2012. The difference between these two time curves was transformed into health outcomes using previous dose-response curves. The economic valuation was performed based on the DALY (disability-adjusted life years) method. RESULTS: The delay in implementing the Cleaner Diesel Technologies policy will result in an estimated excess of 13,984 deaths up to 2040. Health expenditures are projected to be increased by nearly US$ 11.5 billion for the same period. CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate that a significant health burden will occur because of the postponement in implementing the Cleaner Diesel Technologies policy. These results also reinforce the concept that health effects must be considered when revising fuel and emission policies.

Particle emission from heavy-duty engine fuelled with blended diesel and biodiesel

In this study, particulate matter (PM) were characterized from a place impacted by heavy-duty vehicles (Bus Station) fuelled with diesel/biodiesel fuel blend (B3) in the city of Londrina, Brazil. Sixteen priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) concentrations were analyzed in the samples by their association with atmospheric PM, mass size distributions and major ions (fluorite, chloride, bromide, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, nitrite, oxalate; fumarate, formate, succinate and acetate; lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and ammonium). Results indicate that major ions represented 21.2% particulate matter mass. Nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium, respectively, presented the highest concentration levels, indicating that biodiesel may also be a significant source for these ions, especially nitrate. Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene and indeno[1,2,3,-cd]pyrene were the main PAH found, and a higher fraction of PAH particles was found in diameters lower than 0.25 mu m in Londrina bus station. The fine and ultrafine particles were dominant among the PM evaluated, suggesting that biodiesel decreases the total PAH emission. However, it does also increase the fraction of fine and ultrafine particles when compared to diesel.

USE OF BARU OIL (Dipteryx alata Vog.) TO PRODUCE BIODIESEL AND STUDY OF THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BIODIESEL/PETROLEUM DIESEL FUEL BLENDS

We describe production of methyl and ethyl esters derived from baru oil (Dipteryx alata Vog.). Water and alcohols are removed from the biodiesel obtained by simple distillation. We study the acidity, density, iodine number, viscosity, water content, peroxide number, external appearance, and saponification number of the oil, its methyl and ethyl esters (biodiesels) and their blends (B5, B10, B15, B20, and B30) with commercial diesel fuel.

Eugenol attenuates pulmonary damage induced by diesel exhaust particles

Zin WA, Silva AG, Magalhaes CB, Carvalho GM, Riva DR, Lima CC, Leal-Cardoso JH, Takiya CM, Valen a SS, Saldiva PH, Faffe DS. Eugenol attenuates pulmonary damage induced by diesel exhaust particles. J Appl Physiol 112: 911-917, 2012. First published December 22, 2011; doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00764.2011.-Environmentally relevant doses of inhaled diesel particles elicit pulmonary inflammation and impair lung mechanics. Eugenol, a methoxyphenol component of clove oil, presents in vitro and in vivo anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Our aim was to examine a possible protective role of eugenol against lung injuries induced by diesel particles. Male BALB/c mice were divided into four groups. Mice received saline (10 mu l in; CTRL group) or 15 mu g of diesel particles DEP (15 mu g in; DIE and DEUG groups). After 1 h, mice received saline (10 mu l; CTRL and DIE groups) or eugenol (164 mg/kg; EUG and DEUG group) by gavage. Twenty-four hours after gavage, pulmonary resistive (Delta P1), viscoelastic (Delta P2) and total (Delta Ptot) pressures, static elastance (Est), and viscoelastic component of elastance (Delta E) were measured. We also determined the fraction areas of normal and collapsed alveoli, amounts of polymorpho- (PMN) and mononuclear cells in lung parenchyma, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. Est, Delta P2, Delta Ptot, and Delta E were significantly higher in the DIE than in the other groups. DIE also showed significantly more PMN, airspace collapse, and apoptosis than the other groups. However, no beneficial effect on lipid peroxidation was observed in DEUG group. In conclusion, eugenol avoided changes in lung mechanics, pulmonary inflammation, and alveolar collapse elicited by diesel particles. It attenuated the activation signal of caspase-3 by DEP, but apoptosis evaluated by TUNEL was avoided. Finally, it could not avoid oxidative stress as indicated by malondialdehyde.

LALP: a language to program custom FPGA-based acceleration engines

Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are becoming increasingly important in embedded and high-performance computing systems. They allow performance levels close to the ones obtained with Application-Specific Integrated Circuits, while still keeping design and implementation flexibility. However, to efficiently program FPGAs, one needs the expertise of hardware developers in order to master hardware description languages (HDLs) such as VHDL or Verilog. Attempts to furnish a high-level compilation flow (e.g., from C programs) still have to address open issues before broader efficient results can be obtained. Bearing in mind an FPGA available resources, it has been developed LALP (Language for Aggressive Loop Pipelining), a novel language to program FPGA-based accelerators, and its compilation framework, including mapping capabilities. The main ideas behind LALP are to provide a higher abstraction level than HDLs, to exploit the intrinsic parallelism of hardware resources, and to allow the programmer to control execution stages whenever the compiler techniques are unable to generate efficient implementations. Those features are particularly useful to implement loop pipelining, a well regarded technique used to accelerate computations in several application domains. This paper describes LALP, and shows how it can be used to achieve high-performance computing solutions.

Genotoxicity assessment of water soluble fractions of biodiesel and its diesel blends using the Salmonella assay and the in vitro MicroFlow (R) kit (Litron) assay

The designation of biodiesel as an environmental-friendly alternative to diesel oil has improved its commercialization and use. However, most biodiesel environmental safety studies refer to air pollution and so far there have been very few literature data about its impacts upon other biotic systems, e.g. water, and exposed organisms. Spill simulations in water were carried out with neat diesel and biodiesel and their blends aiming at assessing their genotoxic potentials should there be contaminations of water systems. The water soluble fractions (WSF) from the spill simulations were submitted to solid phase extraction with C-18 cartridge and the extracts obtained were evaluated carrying out genotoxic and mutagenic bioassays [the Salmonella assay and the in vitro MicroFlow (R) kit (Litron) assay]. Mutagenic and genotoxic effects were observed, respectively, in the Salmonella/microsome preincubation assay and the in vitro MN test carried out with the biodiesel WSF. This interesting result may be related to the presence of pollutants in biodiesel derived from the raw material source used in its production chain. The data showed that care while using biodiesel should be taken to avoid harmful effects on living organisms in cases of water pollution. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Desgaste adhesivo (scuffing) en camisas de cilindros y aros de pistón de motores diesel lentos de dos tiempos

[ES] En este trabajo se describe el desgaste adhesivo (scuffing) que representa la más severa de las agresiones a la que se ven expuestos aros de pistón y camisas de cilindro de motores diésel lentos de dos tiempos aplicados a la generación eléctrica, al quemar combustibles de bajo contenido en azufre. Al afectar simultáneamente, a estos dos elementos básicos de la cámara de combustión, repercute negativamente tanto en la continuidad del servicio del motor, como en los costes asociados a la restitución de las condiciones nominales de trabajo.

Aportación a la investigación sobe la reducción de las emisiones de NOx en grupos diesel utilizados para generación de energía eléctrica

Programa de doctorado: Energía y Medio Ambiente

Modellazione e simulazione di sistemi meccanici ad elevato numero di gradi di libertà mediante metodi non convenzionali e sistemi CAD

Recent developments in piston engine technology have increased performance in a very significant way. Diesel turbocharged/turbo compound engines, fuelled by jet fuels, have great performances. The focal point of this thesis is the transformation of the FIAT 1900 jtd diesel common rail engine for the installation on general aviation aircrafts like the CESSNA 172. All considerations about the diesel engine are supported by the studies that have taken place in the laboratories of the II Faculty of Engineering in Forlì. This work, mostly experimental, concerns the transformation of the automotive FIAT 1900 jtd – 4 cylinders – turbocharged – diesel common rail into an aircraft engine. The design philosophy of the aluminium alloy basement of the spark ignition engine have been transferred to the diesel version while the pistons and the head of the FIAT 1900 jtd are kept in the aircraft engine. Different solutions have been examined in this work. A first V 90° cylinders version that can develop up to 300 CV and whose weight is 30 kg, without auxiliaries and turbocharging group. The second version is a development of e original version of the diesel 1900 cc engine with an optimized crankshaft, that employ a special steel, 300M, and that is verified for the aircraft requirements. Another version with an augmented stroke and with a total displacement of 2500 cc has been examined; the result is a 30% engine heavier. The last version proposed is a 1600 cc diesel engine that work at 5000 rpm, with a reduced stroke and capable of more than 200 CV; it was inspired to the Yamaha R1 motorcycle engine. The diesel aircraft engine design keeps the bore of 82 mm, while the stroke is reduced to 64.6 mm, so the engine size is reduced along with weight. The basement weight, in GD AlSi 9 MgMn alloy, is 8,5 kg. Crankshaft, rods and accessories have been redesigned to comply to aircraft standards. The result is that the overall size is increased of only the 8% when referred to the Yamaha engine spark ignition version, while the basement weight increases of 53 %, even if the bore of the diesel version is 11% lager. The original FIAT 1900 jtd piston has been slightly modified with the combustion chamber reworked to the compression ratio of 15:1. The material adopted for the piston is the aluminium alloy A390.0-T5 commonly used in the automotive field. The piston weight is 0,5 kg for the diesel engine. The crankshaft is verified to torsional vibrations according to the Lloyd register of shipping requirements. The 300M special steel crankshaft total weight is of 14,5 kg. The result reached is a very small and light engine that may be certified for general aviation: the engine weight, without the supercharger, air inlet assembly, auxiliary generators and high pressure body, is 44,7 kg and the total engine weight, with enlightened HP pump body and the titanium alloy turbocharger is less than 100 kg, the total displacement is 1365 cm3 and the estimated output power is 220 CV. The direct conversion of automotive piston engine to aircrafts pays too huge weight penalties. In fact the main aircraft requirement is to optimize the power to weight ratio in order to obtain compact and fast engines for aeronautical use: this 1600 common rail diesel engine version demonstrates that these results can be reached.

Studio e sviluppo di un motore a 2 tempi diesel veloce di nuova concezione per applicazioni automobilistiche

The Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (DIMeC) of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia is developing a new type of small capacity HSDI 2-Stroke Diesel engine (called HSD2), featuring a specifically designed combustion system, aimed to reduce weight, size and manufacturing costs, and improving pollutant emissions at partial load. The present work is focused on the analysis of the combustion and the scavenging process, investigated by means of a version of the KIVA-3V code customized by the University of Chalmers and modified by DIMeC. The customization of the KIVA-3V code includes a detailed combustion chemistry approach, coupled with a comprehensive oxidation mechanism for diesel oil surrogate and the modeling of turbulence/chemistry interaction through the PaSR (Partially Stirred Reactor) model. A four stroke automobile Diesel engine featuring a very close bore size is taken as a reference, for both the numerical models calibration and for a comparison with the 2-Stroke engine. Analysis is carried out trough a comparison between HSD2 and FIAT 1300 MultiJet in several operating conditions, at full and partial load. Such a comparison clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the two stroke concept in terms of emissions reduction and high power density. However, HSD2 is still a virtual engine, and experimental results are needed to assume the reliability of numerical results.