[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6877\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ECatching ultrafine emissions could help develop cleaner cars\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETiny particles emitted by\u0026nbsp;combustion\u0026nbsp;engines contain poisonous substances that pollute the atmosphere. They are one of the main sources of poor air quality, which overall causes the premature death of over \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.eea.europa.eu\/highlights\/improving-air-quality-in-european\/premature-deaths-2014\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E500,000 EU citizens every year\u003C\/a\u003E \u2013 more than ten times the number that perish in road traffic accidents.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Particulate pollution is not improving in European cities at the pace anticipated by the wide introduction of particle filters for all types of diesel engines. In some cases, it may actually get worse,\u2019 said Professor Zissis Samaras, an expert in automotive emissions from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrent EU legislation regulates emission standards for particles\u0026nbsp;from diesel and gasoline engines that are larger than 23 billionths of a metre, or 23 nanometres. However, some \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.transportenvironment.org\/publications\/gasoline-particulate-emissions-next-auto-scandal\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Efuel-efficient engines\u003C\/a\u003E, which emit less carbon dioxide, can release even smaller nanoparticles and these can come with their own range of health risks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe human respiratory system is not designed to block particles of this size from entering the lungs. The particles also have a larger surface area than their bigger counterparts, which means that when they come into contact with the lungs there is a higher risk of harmful substances being absorbed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis could contribute to acute and long-term health effects, according to Prof. Samaras, who is the coordinator of DownToTen, a research project aiming to measure automotive exhaust particles down to ten billionths of a metre, or 10 nanometres. This could eventually help car manufacturers design engines that emit fewer of these harmful particles.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo do this, the project is investigating both the particles directly released by a car\u2019s engine, and their relationship with older particles already in the air, which have undergone something called atmospheric ageing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EParticle fever\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAtmospheric ageing is when particles have already entered the environment where they can react with different compounds or attach to various other substances. This can end up changing their nature.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPart of the problem is trying to determine whether the older particles are produced as a direct result of the fresh exhaust or from somewhere else.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018These secondary (atmospherically aged) particles can also come from the sea, from agriculture, forests or natural processes,\u2019 said Prof. Samaras. \u2018The question is how much do the emissions of vehicular primary particles cause or accelerate these processes.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;These secondary (aged) particles can also come from the sea, from agriculture, forests or natural processes \u2013 the question is how much do the emissions of vehicular primary particles cause or accelerate these processes.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProf. Zissis Samaras, Aristotle University, Greece\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDownToTen has developed a device that is attached to a car\u2019s exhaust pipe and measures both new and aged particles. As the car releases emissions, the device records data on the emitted particles, and then pushes them into a chamber where atmospheric ageing is artificially performed. Data on the aged particles is then collected for analysis which can provide a more detailed insight into automotive emissions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother research project called SUREAL-23 has also developed an instrument that can measure particles under 23 nanometres, but in high resolution. An additional analyser was built that gives information not only on the size, but also the total number of particles emitted in real time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEleni Papaioannou of the Chemical Process \u0026amp; Energy Resources Institute\u0026nbsp;(CPERI) in Greece is coordinating the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018With this device, we will have exact knowledge of not only how many, but also on the size of particles while the vehicle is running,\u2019 she said, adding that one of the reasons that current regulation only targets particles bigger than 23 nanometres is because neither a robust enough methodology or adequate instrumentation existed up until now.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESUREAL-23 was also successful in developing, for the first time, a heat-resistant measurement instrumentation, which is vital because it significantly simplifies and improves the sampling process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The sampling system is often responsible for errors during the measurements as it introduces particle losses and artefacts (particles that do not exist at the exhaust but are created through the sampling process). For the first time, we managed to simplify this, getting rid of all those problems but also making our methodology more appropriate for on-road measurements,\u2019 said Papaioannou.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUsing this research into nanoparticles together with more accurate computer codes, car manufacturers will be able to input different factors, such as engine size, temperature and speed, to determine what the potential particle release would be in each case and optimise the relevant engine and exhaust treatment parameters. Knowing this information will enable manufacturers to design cars that are in line with future EU legislation, which is expected to reset the current limit on particle emissions to 10 nanometres.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAll research in this article is funded by the EU. 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