Vehicles Alternative Fuel Systems and Environmental Protection
8 July 2004

Professor Saleem Hashmi, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Pat the Cope Gallagher, td, Professor Albert Pratt

The School of Mechanical Engineering is hosting a three-day international conference on `Vehicle Alternative Fuel System and Environmental Protection' from 6-9 July 2004. The conference provides a forum for researchers and practitioners around the world to present papers and discuss recent developments in the area of alternative fuel systems such as LNG, Biogas Hydrogen, electrical and hybrid drive systems. Health, the environment and climate are also issues that will be examined. The conference, which is attended by over 100 delegates from over 25 countries, was organised by Dr Abdul Olabi, lecturer in the School of Mechanical Engineering.

The conference was opened by Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Pat the Cope Gallagher, td, who said in his opening speech:

"While Ireland's air quality overall is generally very good, it is now evident that emissions from the transport sector, particularly in heavily trafficked urban areas, represent the greatest threat to our air quality. This has been highlighted by the Environmental Protection Agency for a number of years and again most recently in its latest state of the environment report entitled `Ireland's Environment 2004'.

"Despite improvements in vehicle technologies, which are reducing emissions, road traffic sources still constitute a significantly growing proportion of air pollutants in Ireland. It has the highest sectoral contribution to emissions of nitrogen oxides and second highest to emissions of volatile organic compounds, behind solvent usage. It is the fastest growing sector, by far, in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. The success story in recent times has been the reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions due to reduced sulphur content in petrol and diesel fuels and advances in engine emission control technologies. Vehicle emissions from diesel engines remain a major source of particulate matter and cars also emit carbon monoxide and benzene. Particulate matter levels are a distinct concern in Ireland and the achievement of stringent new limit values for this pollutant under the EU Air Quality Directives continues to be challenging, and is set to become more so with tighter standards entering into force in 2010.

"The marriage of improved technologies and cleaner fuels together with a sustainable and integrated approach to transport and environmental policy are the way forward to my mind. However, given our heavy reliance on road transport and seeming dependence on the motor car, the difficulty in achieving significant reductions of local and transboundary acidic and global greenhouse gas emissions in the short-term should not be understated. Road transport is perhaps the most difficult sector to deal with given the diffuse nature of vehicle emissions. Conferences such as this one today have an important role to play in encouraging innovative and alternative approaches to fuel systems, which, in turn, can contribute in some part to the goal of cleaner air and lower emissions".

For further details contact Dr Abdul Olabi at 7007718