[Berg:]

In 1984 I wrote the following in my article on page 38: "For all their efforts they would have had an average concentration of less than 0.4% carbon monoxide and more than 4% oxygen."

[Scott Mullins:]

I'm sorry, but this is simply false. The Elliot-Davis paper that you cite clearly demonstrates that diesel engines can generate CO concentrations of approximately 1.0% and O₂ concentrations less than 2.0% at fuel/air ratios less than stoichiometric. For proof please see figure 4 on page 333 of the Elliot-Davis paper.

[Note: "stoichiometric" means the ratio at which there is just enough oxygen to burn all the fuel completely. That ratio is approximately 0.068 for the Holtz-Elliot paper. It is also referred to as the "chemically correct ratio."]

[Berg:]

What I wrote is not false at all. Figure 4 shows some data taken beyond the normal operating range of the engine. From the upper limit of the normal operating range to stoichiometric, there is still quite a stretch. Read Elliott and Davis again. You can only get to stoichiometric by operating at GREATER than FULL LOAD. Read pages 334 and 335.

Our old friend, Fig. 6 from Berg's paper, shows up in this reference (Elliot-Davis) as well (they call it Fig. 2). But Elliot-Davis doesn't have the raw data found in the older Holtz-Elliot paper.

Let's look at that raw data, specifically experiment B-70 at the top of p. 99 in the Holtz-Elliot paper. The fuel/air ratio is 0.07 (greater than the chemically correct ratio). The speed is 1400 RPM. What is the load? Is it indeed "GREATER than FULL LOAD?"

Well, again it depends on what Berg means by this. The power output is only 40.20HP (70% maximum).

What is the exhaust composition? CO 0.7% - very bad. CO₂ 13.8% (Getting worse - CO and CO₂ are synergistic, something Berg completely failed to mention in his paper.)

What is the oxygen content? Oxygen content is down to 0.8%. Forget the carbon monoxide. An atmosphere with less than 1% oxygen kills all by itself.

Mr. Berg has volunteered to breathe diesel exhaust to show how safe it is. One wonders if he would still willing to do that if the exhaust composition were set to less than one percent oxygen and he were stuck in a fairly small chamber so he starts using up the existing oxygen relatively quickly. (This was the situation at Treblinka, where people were crammed like sardines into the chambers).

For all of Berg's claims of how difficult it is to obtain such fuel-air ratios, Holtz and Elliot seemed to have no trouble doing it. Berg cannot get around that fact.

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