A new method of reducing diesel particulate emissions that could bring fresher air to our towns and cities, could be a possibility, thanks to a Hull-based engineer, Julian Hasinski. Julian has received a NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) Invention and Innovation award of £31,000 to develop his invention - Diesel Emission Reduction Technology (DERT).
DERT is a filter that, mounted to the exhaust of a diesel vehicle, will collect the matter which causes pollution, and therefore, reduce the vehicle's emission of pollution into the air. The device consists of several panel-type filters, containing natural fibres, held in a magazine. When the first filter becomes in use, the pollutants then pass through to the next filter in line, and so on. Once all filters are clogged the magazine can be removed. The dirty filters can either be discarded and replaced with new ones or washed and reused. A mechanism can be installed which will indicate externally how many of the filters are clogged.