Cutting emissions down to size

While the long-term future may deliver an efficient alternative to the internal-combustion engine, a few UK-led projects are tackling short- to medium-term solutions for improving engine-out emissions and efficiency of gasoline and diesel engines.

As manufacturers turn their attention to engines destined for production well beyond the next phase of global emissions regulations, the need to reduce regulated pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions has never been greater. While the long-term future may deliver an efficient alternative to the internal-combustion (IC) engine, in the short to medium term, improving the efficiency of gasoline and diesel engines is an ongoing quest. Electrification of ancillary systems is helping to reduce parasitic losses and hybridization of drivelines is helping to reduce emissions, but how are engine designers meeting the challenge of developing more-efficient and therefore lower-emitting combustion engines?

As global vehicle emissions legislation tightens, the further reductions in emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and in some cases particulate matter (PM) may lead to a sharp rise in the cost of after-treatment. Some engine designers believe that further enhancements to gasoline technology may offer a less expensive route to compliance and an increasingly viable alternative to light-duty diesels.