Transportation today is almost exclusively powered by the internal combustion engine (ICE). Although engines have become significantly cleaner and more efficient over the last few decades, human health and environmental concerns have led several governments around the world to propose bans on diesel and gasoline cars. The electrification of transportation, while often touted as the only way to mitigate vehicle emissions, comes with its own set of concerns and challenges that must be considered when developing future transportation technologies. Furthermore, there is still significant untapped potential in both ICE concepts and the fuels they use. This paper argues that hybrid systems are the fastest way to reduce CO2 emissions from vehicles and that, when judged on a life-cycle basis, the vehicle technology with the least environmental and health impact is highly region dependent. Therefore, a mixture of transportation technologies is necessary in the future fleet. It is hoped that the recommendations provided in this paper will prompt policymakers to set targets for emission reduction instead of implementing bans on specific technologies, so industry can focus on developing the best solutions for each situation.

Diversity in transportation: Why a mix of propulsion technologies is the way forward for the future fleet

A review of strategies for mitigating roadside air pollution in urban street canyons

Effects of fuel injection strategies on combustion and emissions of intelligent charge compression ignition (ICCI) mode fueled with methanol and biodiesel

The automotive industry is experiencing a revolutionary moment in search of reducing the carbon footprint from its activities. Despite the demand for lower pollutant vehicles, there is no need for a complete disruption of the current industrial production processes. Notably, electric vehicles have been promoted by some parties as the only and best solution for the sustainable future of mobility, to the detriment of the internal combustion engine. This tendentious point of view, although controversial and potentially dangerous, has been gaining strength especially after the pandemic started in 2019, when a considerable reduction in the circulation of the fleet worldwide was observed. Therefore, this work aims to demonstrate the importance of a diversity of solutions for the sustainable future of the transport sector. The risks of a technology ban were examined, as well as the reasons why the development of internal combustion engines, alongside biofuels, is still and will continue to be necessary for cleaner mobility. Moreover, an investigation towards the real responsible for global emissions showed that electricity generation, not automobiles, is the major cause of atmospheric pollution.

Internal combustion engines and biofuels: Examining why this robust combination should not be ignored for future sustainable transportation

Spray combustion of fast pyrolysis bio-oils: Applications, challenges, and potential solutions

Internal combustion (IC) engines operating on fossil fuel oil provide about 25% of the world’s power (about 3000 out of 13,000 million tons oil equivalent per year—see Figure 1), and in doing so, they produce about 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Figure 2). Reducing fuel consumption and emissions has been the goal of engine researchers and manufacturers for years, as can be seen in the two decades of ground-breaking peer-reviewed articles published in this International Journal of Engine Research (IJER). Indeed, major advances have been made, making today’s IC engine a technological marvel. However, recently, the reputation of IC engines has been dealt a severe blow by emission scandals that threaten the ability of this technology to make significant and further contributions to the reduction of transportation sector emissions. In response, there have been proposals to replace vehicle IC engines with electric-drives with the intended goals of further reducing fuel consumption and emissions, and to decrease vehicle GHG emissions. Indeed, some potential students and researchers are being dissuaded from seeking careers in IC engine research due to disparaging statements made in the popular press and elsewhere that disproportionately blame IC engines for increasing atmospheric GHGs. Without a continuous influx of enthusiastic, welltrained engineers into the profession, the potential further benefits that improved IC engines can still provide will not be realized. As responsible automotive engineers and as stewards of the environment for future generations, it is up to our community to make an honest assessment of the progress made in the development of IC engines over the past century, with their almost universal adoption to meet the world’s mobility and power generation needs. Considering that the maturity of IC engine technology is something that many other technologies/possibilities do not have, we also need to assess the potential for future progress, as well as to assess the benefits offered by competitor technologies, in order to make responsible recommendations for future directions. Factors impacting that future are discussed in this editorial and include the following:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1468087419877990

Z Huang

Papers

IJER editorial: The future of the internal combustion engine: