Verbal practice test

Losing my emissions – the future of green motoring

Do Catalytic converters prevent pollution?

Whilst Catalytic converters don’t actually prevent pollution, they do help to cut it down. Their purpose is to convert the poisonous carbon monoxide gas, and other pollutants produced by cars into carbon dioxide. They don’t, however, work to full effect on short car journeys since they only work once they have been warmed up.

Is it better for the environment to use biofuels?

This is not really true because they give off less energy per quantity than ordinary fuels. There is also the environmental cost of producing biofuels; intensive farming of the crops, fertilizers and pesticides used on them, and then the conversion of the crops into the fuels. Biofuels emit less sulphur than conventional fuels, but they do produce more nitrogen monoxide. Biofuels can have a negative effect on the environment.

What about future developments in fuel technology?

Hydrogen is often cited as the way forward for green motoring. Although hydrogen is the most common element in the universe it requires complex processes for its production, storage and distribution. Nuclear powered cars are really only suitable for time travel (which requires 1.21 gigawatts of electricity).