CO2 emission reduction for vehicles

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In order to reduce and minimize the CO2 emissions generated from vehicles several techniques and methods can be used

MAJOR CAR MANUFACTURER CO2 REDUCTION TECHNIQUES:

Engine:

The simplest way to reduce emissions is to buy cars with weaker engines,

but most people don’t want to relinquish on performance; but there is an alternative.

Downsizing: (Click for technical aspects behind Downsizing)

Downsizing is one of the most effective ways to reduce carbon dioxides.

Downsizing is a simple and effective procedure. Through downsizing the engine can have less cubic meters, but still have the same power as before.

Car manufacturers such as Volkswagen already converted a 1.9 litre engine with 101PS into a 1.6 litre engine with 105PS (used in the new Polo). Volkswagen even sells a Polo with only 3 cylinders and a 1.2 litre engine. Also more extreme downsizing attempts will be more common in the future. One example is Fiats 85PS 2 cylinder engine (picture on the right), which replaces a 4 cylinder engine.

Through downsizing, vehicle engines can be capable of emitting at least 40 g/km CO2 less and save up to 20% in fuel consumption.

Engine Technology:

Besides downsizing the engines efficiency can be improved through better technology. These technologies include variable Valve trains,

high precision direct fuel injection and reduced friction losses.

Through improved engine technology, vehicles can emit up to 10% g/km CO2 less.

Weight reduction:

Today cars have become increasingly heavy, which is due to the requested amount of safety precautions, equipment and comfort (mostly more room).

When a car is heavy the engine has to work harder to perform adequate performance, than in a lighter car.

Weight reduction includes using less and lighter material, which mostly applies for the car body, but can also affect the chassis.

Materials which are used to reduce the vehicles weight are Aluminium, Magnesium and Carbon Fibre

These Materials ensure high stiffness, while weighing less than steel. The only disadvantage is that these Materials are more expensive than Steel, and especially Carbon Fibre which is very expensive and difficult to manufacture.

Through Weight Reduction 8.5 g/km CO2 and 0.3 L/100 km can be saved for every 100 kg which are being neglected.

MINOR CAR MANUFACTURER CO2 REDUCTION TECHNIQUES:

Automatic gearbox and start-stop function:

New automatic gearboxes have more gears (e.g. Porsche Cayenne turbo with an 8 gear automatic gearbox) which allows driving at the most efficient level. The automatic gearboxes are then adjusted to shift up early, since higher rpm result in higher fuel consumption and therefore higher CO2 discharge. The automatic gearbox is then combined with a start-stop function (e.g. Mercedes and Ferrari). This function turns off the entire engine when the car comes to still stand and reflates it when the gas pedal is touched to continue driving. This saves CO2 emissions, while waiting in front of traffic lights or traffic jam.

Through an automatic gearbox and start-stop system CO2 emissions can be reduced by 5%.

Aerodynamics:

An aerodynamic car body is especially effective when the car is driving at higher speeds. When the speed increases the drag doubles, therefore it is essential to have a streamlined body to minimize the force which the engine has to work against.

With an optimized and streamlined car body the aerodynamic drag can be reduced by 2%.

Underbody panelling:

The air creates a resistance while driving, which is called drag. This drag does not only apply to the airflow above the car body, but also beneath the car body.

Through a lowered body with fully smoothened underpody panelling the CO2 emissions can be reduced by 2%

Tyres:

Tyres are responsible to provide sufficient friction to the road, but by increasing the friction between the car and the road the engine has to work harder, which results in higher emissions. Therefore engineers have introduced new fuel efficient tyres. These tyres produce less friction and therefore reduce the CO2 emissions while maintaining longevity and sufficient road grip.

Such Eco tyres can save up to 1% in CO2 emissions.

Manual Gearbox:

An automatic gearbox can improve the CO2 emissions, but there are also measures for a manual gearbox which can improve CO2 emissions. If the gear ratio is made bigger, then the car can be more easily driven in the lower rpm range for fewer emissions. This can be combined with optimized friction bearings.

A Manual gearbox together with optimized bearings can save another 1% in CO2 emissions.