JOSHUA TICKELL CHAPTER 19 Fuel from the Fields

Summary Joshua Tickell, an environmentalist, Describes how he retrofitted his van to burn biodiesel, a fuel made from plant oil. Loves driving and wants to find a way to keep driving without contributing so much to air pollution – the environmental degradation that results from drilling and transporting fossil fuels. Describes how a diesel engine works and explains how he traveled the country communicating the solution he found.

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Key points Obtaining, transporting, and burning fossil fuels contributes a number of environmental and health problems. Many scientists believe that increased use of fossil fuels has resulted in global warming trends that may contribute to severe climate change. A diesel engine uses the relationship between pressure, volume, and temperature to spin the wheels of a car.

Renewable v. nonrenewable A renewable resource is a resource that can regenerate or replenish itself in a relatively short amount of time. A nonrenewable resource cannot regenerate or replenish itself in a practical amount of time. Examples?

Question 1 Question What’s the difference between a gas engine and diesel engine? Answer The main difference between the two types of engines is in the way that they ignite the gas-air mixture. Gasoline engines take in a mixture of gas and air, compress it, and then ignite it with a spark from a spark plug. Diesel engines take in just air, compress it, and then inject fuel into the compressed air. The air is compressed enough to raise its temperature sufficiently so that the injected fuel will ignite it.

Question 2 Question Give both an advantage and a disadvantage of a diesel engine over a gasoline engine. Answer Diesel engines are more powerful, and therefore are used to power trains, cargo ships, and other heavy vehicles. Diesel engine exhaust contains more soot and other particulate pollutants than gasoline engines.

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Question 5 Question What will happen to the pressure of the gas in the chamber as the volume of the chamber expands in the third step? Answer Pressure will drop, as stated in the equation above, which relates pressure, temperature, and volume.