Methods of Choosing Technology for Improving the Environmental Indicators of Vehicles

The chapter deals with a new methodology for choosing technology for the modernization of vehicles in order to improve their environmental indicators. There are a number of methods to improve the environmental performance of engines, but the specific method is usually chosen by the institution. The fuel-energy indicators of the engine, its reliability and durability are assessed by the manufacturability criterion. Environmental safety is assessed taking into account the amount of emissions of harmful substances with waste gases and the hazard class. Economic efficiency of equipment operation is assessed by the criterion of economic efficiency, which is calculated taking into account the saving of operating costs when using technology and capital investments in the conversion of equipment. The maintainability criterion is evaluated by hierarchical analysis. The environmental criterion is evaluated by the total intensity of emissions of harmful substances of carbon monoxide, reduced to CO. The proposed method gives an opportunity to assess the performance of the equipment in the process of its operation according to one general criterion, which makes it much easier to choose the technology of modernization in order to improve ecological indicators. Using the developed method, the authors found that the highest value of the general criterion is the natural gas method, somewhat smaller liquefied gas.