Rare Metals Save Diesel Engines from World Health Organization's ...

Rare metals are crucial to the development of the batteries and electric motors driving the electric vehicle revolution. Materials such as lanthanum, neodymium and samarium have allowed for the advancement of electrical propulsion and the weight and size reductions that are making it possible for electric powered transportation to thrive. However, these very rare metals, will also enable diesel engines to stay on the road.

There is a good chance that the price of gasoline has cramped your style or the style of someone you know. A much larger portion of the average household budget is being absorbed by fuel costs and automobile manufacturers have responded by offering an ever wider range of alternative fuel models. Diesel engine powered cars, ubiquitous in Europe since decades ago, have become more popular on North American highways thanks to their long range and high efficiency. For the more environmentally conscious set, auto majors from BMW to Toyota, offer a growing lineup of hybrid powered automobiles, while specialty manufacturers such as Karma or Tesla are selling high performance pure electric vehicles. Hybrids and full electric vehicles may cost more but they have become much more practical thanks to improved battery technology allowing for much faster recharging times. Yet, the term ?skyrocketing? cannot yet be used to describe sales figures for hybrids; much less, for pure electrics as some manufacturers such as GM have actually pulled models like the Chevrolet Volt off the market due to disappointing sales figures. Even so, drivers having a more environmentally conscious persuasion may have the last laugh, as it were.

As noted in a previous article published on Rare Metal Blog (and another on Graphite Blog) the World Health Organization (WHO) report states that the exhaust from diesel powered engines can cause deadly forms of cancer. These findings are sure to attract a lot of attention ? negative attention in the case of many popular diesel vehicles. One of the main effects of the WHO report will be to increase demand for alternative energy sources. Nevertheless, diesel powers all kinds of vehicles including trucks, ships and locomotives and it is inconceivable that they will be phased out from production in the short term. The more likely scenario is that solutions will be sought to reduce emissions from diesel engines, even as the technology for electric ones continues to advance.

Fuel additives based on nanometer sized cerium (Ce) particles specifically target the soot emissions from diesel fuel combustion that the WHO has identified as carcinogenic. Cerium additives are also said to improve actual fuel efficiency. ?In oxide form, cerium based catalytic reactors haves proven to be very effective in eliminating toxic nitrogen-oxide (NOx) emissions from diesel exhausts as demonstrated by a company called Argonne, which has been developing these special devices. NOx are among the hardest emissions to reduce, and currently available methods have produced undesirable side particulate emissions. Cerium oxide catalysts eliminate NOx without the side effects. Once again, rare metals demonstrate their crucial value to the advancement of technology and better living standards.

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