Diesel engines could emit 80% fewer gases thanks to these Spanish engineers

Within the framework of the Dieper project, a group of engineers has developed a more efficient and less polluting diesel engine

A team of researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia, members of the CMT-Motores Térmicos Institute, has worked on developing a low-consumption diesel engine whose lower emissions from burning the hydrocarbon produce less volume of harmful gases than those currently being built and fitted to newly registered vehicles, in line with the European regulation that limits the maximum rate of particulate matter expelled into the atmosphere.

A project framed within the European Dieper project, led by the Austrian multinational AVL, in which research and study centres such as the UPV university work jointly with manufacturers such as Renault, Iveco or Fiat, and other automotive industry manufacturers and suppliers such as Continental, Bosch or Siemens, sharing knowledge and technology to improve the efficiency of combustion engines.

A working group that seeks ways to offer solutions that relieve the atmosphere in which the automotive industry is immersed, and that can find innovative short-term solutions that provide a breath of fresh air for manufacturers and society.

And, as a result, two vehicles have been presented equipped with engines that are far more efficient than those currently permitted.

One of the models exemplified the group of vehicles intended for passenger transport, and the other, a light commercial vehicle intended for freight transport.

Diesel could get a new opportunity

Simulations carried out on these vehicles show that they would be capable of producing combustion gas emissions more than 80 per cent lower than vehicles that currently comply with the latest legislation in force on air quality and improvement.

At the same time, these computer simulations demonstrate that fuel consumption is also reduced.

This improvement in energy efficiency is achieved through the use of variable compression ratios, better thermal management and the development of new particulate filters.

One of the most encouraging aspects is that, as Jesús Benajes, professor and researcher at the CMT-Motores Térmicos Institute and coordinator of the part of the project related to thermo-fluid-dynamic processes inside the engine, points out, these are “solutions already available today for integration into the engines that will power future medium and large cars and light commercial vehicles or vans”.

That is, current technology already has these elements; what remains is to integrate them properly in order to build new-generation engines with the capacity to reduce fuel use and dependence while minimising toxic and greenhouse gas emissions.