Fuel-mist control might reduce deaths in crashes between trucks and buses that produce a fireball.Dangerous explosions often occur when planes or vehicles crash. Scientists led by Julia Kornfield, chemical engineering profession at the California Institute of Technology, have developed a polymer that, when added to fuel, curbs the formation of the fine mist that potentially creates a fireball after a collision.

The synthetic polymer suppresses post-crash fuel mist by causing fuel droplets to fall rather than remain suspended in the air. The polymer did not have an effect on engine power or efficiency, but did lower soot formation, the researchers say. They focused their work on aviation and diesel fuel and not on gasoline, which will be studied at a later date.

Kornfield says that a typical long-haul diesel truck equipped with a 100-gallon tank is equivalent in energy of three tons of TNT. The fireballs that result from fine mist exploding after a collision reduce the number of survivors.

The polymer does not eliminate the mist. However, by reducing the mist substantially, a safety benefit ensues. The polymer could become commercially available in diesel fuel within the next two years. For aviation use, the Federal Aviation Administration approval process typically last five to seven years.

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