A laboratory dedicated to detailed scientific observation of how alternative fuels, including plant-based biofuels, operate in a working engine is among the new capabilities being unveiled this month at an event celebrating expansion of the Combustion Research Facility, part of the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories. Research in this new engine laboratory may contribute to reducing petroleum imports and improving the environment. Understanding how fuel properties affect emissions is an essential step toward production of cleaner, more efficient engines for the next century.
Alternative fuels can potentially reduce emissions associated with standard diesel fuel.
Like this engine research, laboratories at the Combustion Research Facility are dedicated to enhancing our scientific understanding of combustion, an age-old tool that supplies about 90 percent of the energy used in the United States today, but is still little understood. Researchers began elucidating the dynamic chemical and fluid mechanical processes of combustion at Sandia when the facility opened nearly 20 years ago. Lab space for new unique capabilities at the Combustion Research Facility was recently added to facilitate inquiry into promising new directions. The 16 new laboratories will be celebrated in a symposium and tour Nov. 18. Experts from government, industry and academia will present a half-day of talks, and guests will be welcome to tour the newly equipped labs.