Posts

Showing posts from January, 2022

Do Nigerian Trucks use Diesel Particulate Filters(DPFs)?

Image
  Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) are devices that reduce toxic emissions (air pollution) from diesel exhaust. Specifically, these filters prevent solid particles that are harmful to breathe (i.e. soot), which are created by burning fuel, from leaving the truck and getting into the air. They also keep an engine more fuel-efficient by recycling the soot that gets caught and re-using it for fuel again. It was documented that the DPF was introduced into the trucking system in year 2007.  The term “ diesel particulate trap ” is sometimes used as a synonym for “diesel particulate filter”, especially in older literature. The term “trap” covers a wider class of particle separation devices. Several particle deposition mechanisms other than filtration are commonly employed in industrial dust separation equipment. Examples include gravity settling, centrifugal separation, or electrostatic trapping. None of these techniques could be adopted to control diesel PM emissions, due to the small partic

Between Safety and Profit in the haulage sector

Image
             Road safety is a serious global issue. According to the United Nation’s global status report on road safety conducted in 2008, over 1.2 million people die each year on the world’s roads, and between 20 and 50 million suffer non-fatal injuries. In most regions of the world this epidemic of road traffic injuries is still increasing. Over 90% of the world’s fatalities on the roads occur in low-income and middle-income countries, which have only 48% of the world’s vehicles.   The haulage sector in Nigeria and indeed every part of the world is characterized by truck owners and investors who invested a lot of money to get their business running and would do anything to ensure they get back their investment and profit in the shortest possible time. It then begs the question, at what point do stakeholders in the trucking industry choose between safety and profit? The haulage world’s success is measured in terms of capacities, mileages, rates, revenue generation and l