Cleaning up

Citation

(2003), "Cleaning up", Work Study, Vol. 52 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2003.07952cab.005

Cleaning up

Cleaning up

A new breed of cleaner diesel automotive engines is being sold in Europe. Diesel engines are the near-term environmental solution for motor cars; fuel cells are probably the medium term solution. It is their environmental benefits – as well as their fuel efficiency – that have been instrumental in the rise of the diesel car in Europe. The diesel engines now being sold in Europe are 30 per cent more efficient than petrol engines, and though very "clean" still have difficulty meeting the very stringent current and proposed emission standards in the US. Two such emissions challenges relate to particulates, or soot, and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Particulates are addressed by exhaust filters, but the industry recognises the stiffer challenge posed by NOx. Now a new piston is claimed to be a cost effective way to reduce both NOx and particulates. Recently, Sonex announced that it has been awarded a subcontract under a US Department of Energy (DOE) prime contract to evaluate SCS (Sonex Combustion System) piston designs in an advanced automotive diesel engine in combination with an emissions reduction technology being developed by the DOE prime contractor, Compact Membrane Systems, Inc. of Wilmington, Delaware. The beginning stages of the project will focus on the emissions reduction capabilities of the SCS piston on its own to provide data for evaluation by DOE and commercial interests. Sonex Research is a leader in the field of combustion technology and is developing its patented Sonex Combustion System (SCS) piston-based technology for in-cylinder control of ignition and combustion, designed to increase fuel mileage and reduce emissions of internal combustion engines. Sonex plans to complete development, commercialise and market its SCS Stratified Charge Radical Ignition (SCRI) combustion process to the automotive industry to improve fuel efficiency of gasoline powered vehicles in response to forthcoming increases in national vehicle fuel mileage standards. Additionally, independent third-party testing has confirmed the potential of the SCS application for direct-injected diesel engines to reduce harmful soot in-cylinder without increasing fuel consumption. Other SCS designs are being used to convert gasoline engines of various sizes to operate on safer, diesel-type "heavy fuels" for use in military and commercial applications requiring light weight and safe handling and storage of fuel, such as in UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles).