Asia's beloved three-wheelers are cleaning up their act
Asia's beloved three-wheelers are cleaning up their act
BANGKOK (AFP): "Tuk tuks", the three-wheeled vehicles spluttering along the streets of many Asian cities, are cleaning up their act and starting to comply with strict pollution regulations, a conference heard on Wednesday.
Experts at the first Asian Vehicle Emission Control Conference said motor vehicle emissions are the major cause of the choking smog that blankets much of urban Asia and causes early death for thousands.
But makers of three-wheelers and motorcycles told delegates they are switching from fume-spewing two-stroke engines to more environmentally friendly four strokes.
"We produce 15,000 three-wheelers a month, and they all used to be two-strokes. But we are now shifting to four strokes so that we will be in line with emission regulations coming in 2005," said Ashok Saxema, head of India-based Bajaj Auto, the world's largest manufacturer of trikes.
Two-stroke engines are most common in Asia, home to 70 percent of the world's motorcycles and three-wheelers that are mostly powered by two-strokes -- cheaply manufactured, economical engines that don't burn fuel as cleanly as the more complex four strokes.
Bajaj Auto faces regulations put in place by the Indian government that are reputed to be the toughest in the world for two- and three-wheel vehicles. Even tighter regulations are slated for 2005 and 2007.
Smog from motorcycles and three-wheelers makes up about 40 percent of all vehicle pollution in India. Basic two-strokes are banned in Delhi, so Bajaj makes a special natural gas model for the city.
And in 1999 the company began fitting some three-wheelers with catalytic converters -- devices that alter exhaust chemicals to make them less harmful.
Still, Bajaj Auto has for years made three-wheelers powered by the dirty two-stroke engines for export. The company sells them in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Peru, Argentina and Mexico, where regulations are more lax.
"I think it's best to go to four-stroke, but in a country that doesn't have money, the two-stroke is definitely cheaper," said director of technical development at U.S. pollution control firm Engelhard John J. Mooney.
In China, the government will introduce regulations on pollution from two-strokes in Beijing this year and plans to extend them to the rest of the country in January 2002.
"By 2002 we will be up to European standards," said Bai Jian Ting, senior engineer at China Qingqi Group Co. which is China's largest manufacturer of two-stroke motorcycles.
Anti-pollution legislation for motorcycles and three-wheelers in Asia has lagged behind laws for cars and trucks, according to general manager for Asia at Degussa Metals Catalysts, Klaus Ostgathe.
"Emission legislation here is based on that of the U.S., Europe and Japan. In those regions two stroke engines didn't have a significant impact so it was not applied here," said Ostgathe, who develops emission-control equipment.
Two stroke engines have been banned in the U.S. with the exception of landscaping tools such as chainsaws and recreational watercraft like jet skis.
Another major contributor to the carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and particulates streaming from two-stroke tailpipes is leaded gasoline, which is still used in Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam, Ostgathe said.
The introduction of cleaner unleaded gasoline was delayed in most of these countries due to the 1997 financial crisis, he said.
The tuk tuks that ferry passengers through Bangkok's notorious traffic jams are mostly run by clean natural gas engines, although this innovation is relatively new. For years the three- wheelers ran on two-stroke engines and left clouds of pollution in their wake.