POLLUTION: WHAT WE CAN DO?
“Breathing is life. We know that we can survive without water for few days and without food for several weeks,
but without oxygen, we will die in a matter of minutes”.
by Mr. A. AVINASH, Assitant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology
Tamilnadu, India
In the past ten years or so, the automobile industries have seen a tremendous growth in the research and development of new-age engine technologies. In this view point, an endeavor has been made here to outline the present critical state of engine technologies and a prudent step to resolve the issue in an elusive manner.
An evolution of artificial animals in natural environment
An environmental-foe invented by mankind that ever had a greater impact on society, the economy, and the environment is the reciprocating internal combustion engines, in general called as IC engines. Although several researchers made noteworthy contributions in the development of IC engines, the historical breakthrough by Nicolaus Otto (1876) and his counterpart Rudolf Diesel (1892) in the development of Spark Ignition (SI) engine and Compression Ignition (CI) engine is globally praised. For decades, their magnificent inventions proved to play a vital role in the automobile system, used almost exclusively today. Even though automobiles have become part and parcel of transportation, the high levels of emissions make these engines difficult to pass through the strict emission norms.
Global impact of fossil energy
The industrial mining of fossil energy (in particular fossil fuels for IC engines) by the human being has destroyed the thermal insulating layer inside crust of the earth, and excessive heat from inside of the earth has come to the surface, which is the main cause of a warming globe. Year by year, rising global temperatures have been accompanied by dangerous shifts in climate and weather. A recent report by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) National Climatic Data Center on global climate analysis for the year 2013 disclosed that the year 2013 (tied with 2003) was recorded to be the fourth warmest year globally since records began in 1880. In addition, the global CO2 emissions more than doubled over the last 40 years. Thus, global warming is now irreversible and in an accelerating trend. Even if humans stop emitting greenhouse gases, global warming will still continue for next 1000 years. On the whole, engine development opportunities of the future are down to the wire and there is a pressing need to develop a prudent step to safe guard mother earth by means of green technologies.
A prudent step
During the last few decades, new factors for change have turned out to be imperative and now extensively affect the engine design and operation. These factors are, first, the need to control the automotive contribution to air pollution and, second, the need to achieve momentous improvements in automotive fuel consumption. Based on the in-depth observations on engine technologies, the future investigations have to be carried out on the following aspects to contest air pollution and to accomplish considerable improvements in automotive fuel consumption
· Development of sophisticated emission control technologies is needed to combat high oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter levels.
· In fact, bio-fuels would be one of the feasible solutions to cut greenhouse gas discharges into the air. Also, issues in implementing a viable bio-fuel market primarily due to climate, economic or supply security, food-fuel conflicts, and impacts of the bio-fuel policy on agricultural markets and land use have to extensively studied
· The current bio-fuel technologies are not proposed up to the stipulated level. So, a proper planning measure and standards are required to enforce such quality systems.
· Also, there is a need to develop highly consistent and competent technologies for advanced electric drive vehicles, as well as the problems related to power storage options in hybrid electric vehicles have to be extensively studied.
Apart from these methods, an effective method more commonly called Road space rationing (It is an alternate day travel strategy to reduce air pollution) have to be followed in each nation to curb air pollution
I conjunction with these methods, every individual can follow these simple steps in day to day life to reduce air pollution:
· Talk a walk to nearby neighborhood
· Take your bicycle whenever and wherever possible
· Try to use public means of transport
· Plant more tress in surrounding environment
· Don’t burn garbage in open space, instead use composite pit
· Exploit solar energy to the maximum extent
· Save electrical energy at home and workplace
· Curtail the use of plastic bags
· Say "NO" to pesticides
· Above all the most important is to “educate people”
Finally I conclude by saying that
“Breathing is life. We know that we can survive without water for few days and without food for several weeks, but without oxygen, we will die in a matter of minutes”. So, one person alone cannot save the planet’s biodiversity, but each individual’s effort will pave a way for better tomorrow.
About
 |
Mr. A. Avinash was born at Theni of Tamil Nadu, India in 1992. He had accomplished his graduate Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from K. S. Rangasamy College of Technology, Tiruchengode and received Gold Medal in B.E. Mechanical Engineering.He had completed his Master of Engineering in Internal Combustion Engineering at Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur and secured University second rank. He also received outstanding PG student award at Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, Sriperumbudur. |
At present he is doing Ph.D. at Anna University, Chennai in the area of IC engines and working as an Assistant Professor, head Automobile research lab and research coordinator of Department of Mechanical Engineering, KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore. His areas of interest comprise usage of bio-fuels in internal combustion engine and HCCI engine characteristics. He has authored/co-authored 20+ articles published in Journal of renewable & sustainable energy (AIP), Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, International Journal of Energy and Environment (IJEE), International Journal of Ambient energy, Alexandria Engineering Journal, Biofuels, etc., He has published a book entitled “Computational Studies on Combustion Phenomena of Diesel-HCCI Engine”, ISBN: 978-3-659-96551-7, LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2016,Germany. Besides, he is available as reviewer in Wiley (IJER), Interscience (IJETP), ACS publications (Energy and Fuels), Taylor and Francis (Biofuels & International Journal of Ambient Energy), Elsevier (Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments), and Bentham Science Publishers (Current Alternative Energy). He was nominated and selected as an Ambassador of the Asian Council of science editors, 2016. He also has received Innovative professional award from Society of Professional Engineers, India and Young researcher award from Top Engineers, Chennai. Recently he has been selected for AUFAU International Young scientist award and GEPRA-Bharat Ratna Mother Teresa Gold Medal award. He is the member of ISTE, ISRD, ACSE and IARA.
Google Scholar link:
https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=Oh9nklYAAAAJ&hl=en
