Basic thermo laws - energy converted in an IC engine is proportional to compression ratio.....
The USA centric "problems" with diesel engines centre around Taxation, EPA psychosis and perpetual expansion, Oil company investments in Govt, and un-negotiated trade barriers; to name a few reasons..... none of which have much (more like anything) to do with efficient use of energy.
Also, if the IC engine had been invented 100 years later, the 2 Safety issues I highlighted below would have probably ensured that Gasoline would have been quickly litigated out of existence.
Rgds, D.
Diesel engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The diesel engine has the highest thermal efficiency of any standard internal or external combustion engine due to its very high compression ratio.
Major advantages
Diesel engines have several advantages over other internal combustion engines:
They burn less fuel than a petrol engine performing the same work, due to the engine's higher temperature of combustion and greater expansion ratio.[1] Gasoline engines are typically 30% efficient while diesel engines can convert over 45% of the fuel energy into mechanical energy[32] (see Carnot cycle for further explanation).
They have no high voltage electrical ignition system, resulting in high reliability and easy adaptation to damp environments. The absence of coils, spark plug wires, etc., also eliminates a source of radio frequency emissions which can interfere with navigation and communication equipment, which is especially important in marine and aircraft applications.
The life of a diesel engine is generally about twice as long as that of a petrol engine[33][better source needed] due to the increased strength of parts used. Diesel fuel has better lubrication properties than petrol as well.
Diesel fuel is distilled directly from petroleum. Distillation yields some gasoline, but the yield would be inadequate without catalytic reforming, which is a more costly process.
Diesel fuel is considered safer than petrol in many applications. Although diesel fuel will burn in open air using a wick, it will not explode and does not release a large amount of flammable vapor. The low vapor pressure of diesel is especially advantageous in marine applications, where the accumulation of explosive fuel-air mixtures is a particular hazard. For the same reason, diesel engines are immune to vapor lock.
For any given partial load the fuel efficiency (mass burned per energy produced) of a diesel engine remains nearly constant, as opposed to petrol and turbine engines which use proportionally more fuel with partial power outputs.[34][35][36][37]
They generate less waste heat in cooling and exhaust.[1]
Diesel engines can accept super- or turbo-charging pressure without any natural limit, constrained only by the strength of engine components. This is unlike petrol engines, which inevitably suffer detonation at higher pressure.
The carbon monoxide content of the exhaust is minimal, therefore diesel engines are used in underground mines.[38]
Biodiesel is an easily synthesized, non-petroleum-based fuel (through transesterification) which can run directly in many diesel engines, while gasoline engines either need adaptation to run synthetic fuels or else use them as an additive to gasoline (e.g., ethanol added to gasohol).
