The drive, which became particularly popular in Germany and was patented by Rudolf Diesel in 1892, is considered an invention of the century. He created a basis for modern car, ship and rail transport.
Diesel is also called diesel engine because the fuel injected into the cylinder under high pressure ignites on its own. Many such engines are therefore more efficient compared to gasoline engines with similar performance. And their consumption tends to be lower. This is why diesels often emit smaller amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2).
On the other hand, emissions of air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) are higher – a problem that the industry wants to curb using modern catalytic converter technology. For example, adding AdBlue containing urea reduces the NOx content, resulting in harmless nitrogen and water.