Exhaust gas
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Exhaust gas is flue gas which occurs as a result of the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, gasoline/petrol, diesel, fuel oil or coal. It is discharged into the atmosphere through an exhaust pipe or flue gas stack.
Although the largest part, by far, of most combustion gases is relatively harmless nitrogen (N2) and carbon dioxide (CO2), a relatively very small part of it is undesirable noxious or toxic substances, such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter. When a hydrocarbon combusts, it also produces water, or H2O
Emission standards focus on reducing pollutants contained in the exhaust gases from vehicles as well as from industrial flue gas stacks and other air pollution exhaust sources in various large-scale industrial facilities such as petroleum refineries, natural gas processing plants, petrochemical plants and chemical production plants.[1][2]
In steam engine terminology the exhaust is steam that no longer has the capacity to do useful work, i.e. literally exhausted.
[edit] See also
- Alternative propulsion
- Automobile emissions control
- Catalytic converter
- Clean Air Act
- Combustion
- Diesel Particulate Matter is the main article about diesel exhaust.
- European emission standards
- Flue gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion
- Global warming
- Greenhouse gas
[edit] External links
- Health and Air Pollution Publication of the California Air Resources Board
- U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration: Safety and Health Topics: Diesel Exhaust
- Diesel Exhaust Particulates: Reasonably Anticipated to Be A Human Carcinogen
- Scientific Study of Harmful Effects of Diesel Exhaust: Acute Inflammatory Responses in the Airways and Peripheral Blood After Short-Term Exposure to Diesel Exhaust in Healthy Human Volunteers
[edit] References
- ^ EPA Plain English Guide to the Clean Air Act
- ^ US EPA Publication AP 42, Fifth Edition, Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors
