Clean future for diesel
by Judith H Moore

A NEW generation of cleaner, more economical diesel engines will soon be available thanks to scientists from Imperial College and the University of Brighton.

A research grant of nearly £375,000 from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council means the joint project, which seeks to develop cleaner combustion systems for diesel engines by tackling current concern over environmental pollutants and cancer causing agents in vehicle emissions, will soon be underway.

Led by Imperial’s Professor Alexander Taylor, department of mechanical engineering, and Professor Morgan Heikal, head of the University of Brighton’s School of Engineering Research Centre, the work aims to achieve a more in-depth understanding of the new generation of combusion systems.

“The modern generation of high pressure injection engines seems to offer the promise of being able to create finer particles that mix with air better than ever before,” explained Professor Taylor.

“If we can understand more about how to promote these two processes, we should be better able to understand how to reduce diesel engine emissions.”