ABSTRACT
In the last few years, the focus of combustion research has shifted. The push for higher combustion efficiency in propulsion applications that dominated much of research in the past few decades is gradually being replaced by a drive toward cleaner combustion. A direct result of environmental consciousness, this shift has been translated into stricter air quality legislation. Although it originated as a reaction to regulatory pressure, research in the area of pollutant formation and control will become economically indispensable to the export of combustion-related technologies and products worldwide. In particular, as emissions legislation becomes more restrictive, a detailed understanding of the processes by which NOx, soot, and unburned hydrocarbons are formed in flames will be critical for the design of pollutant abatement strategies and for the preservation of the competitiveness of combustion-related industries.
