Mazda Motor Corporation has announced that it received the Outstanding Technical Paper Award at the 58th annual Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan awards presentation for its analysis of the combustion mechanism of catalysts in diesel particulate filters.

Mazda has been conducting research into combustion mechanisms to eliminate particulate matter, mainly soot, from diesel engine exhaust emissions. The Hiroshima-based company developed an original analytical method which demonstrated that the oxygen exchange characteristics of catalysts play an important role in accelerating the combustion of particulate matter. This work will aid development of highly efficient diesel particulate filters (DPF) in the future. Additionally, the newly developed analytical method can be applied not only to automobile diesel engines, but also to general purpose diesel engines. The award recognizes these achievements, which provide tangible development guidelines for a wide range of future diesel engine technologies.






Diesel engines are popular mainly in Europe because they have better fuel economy than gasoline engines and produce fewer CO2 emissions, which are commonly regarded as a major cause of global warming. However, a treatment process (combustion) is necessary to remove the particulate matter (soot) that is produced in the exhaust. To promote combustion of the particulate matter, the exhaust gases must be heated sufficiently. This requires extra fuel and is one of the causes of impaired fuel economy.

Mazda will leverage its new analytical method to find ways of accelerating particulate matter combustion in order to significantly reduce exhaust processing times. By developing this technology, Mazda intends to cut fuel consumption and achieve cleaner exhaust emissions with less CO2.

The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan has conducted an awards program since 1951 as a means of encouraging the advancement of automotive engineering and technologies. Its Outstanding Technical Paper Award recognizes individuals and their collaborators for outstanding research in the field of automotive technology.

About the Outstanding Technical Paper Award

Awarded for: "Study on low temperature oxidation of diesel particulate matters by oxygen storage component for the catalyzed diesel particulate filter"Recipient: Kenji Suzuki, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation Collaborators: Kouichiro Harada, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation Hiroshi Yamada, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation Kenji Okamo, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation Akihide Takami, Technical Research Center, Mazda Motor Corporation

The Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan confers six awards each spring, namely: the Asahara Science Award, the Asahara Award of Merit in Technology, the Outstanding Technical Paper Award, the Technological Development Award, the Scientific Contribution Award and the Technological Contribution Award. The award ceremony is due to take place during the society’s spring conference at the Pacifico Yokohama Convention Center on May 22, 2008.

Recent Mazda recipients of the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan awards

2007 Daisuke Shimo won the Asahara Science Award for "Emission Reduction in Diesel Engines through Large-Scale Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) and Intake Air Cooling." Tsutomu Shigenaga and Toshihiro Yoshida won the Technological Development Award for "Development and Commercialization of Environmentally Friendly High Uniformity Electrodeposition Paint."

2006 Taeko Shimizu won the Asahara Award of Merit in Technology for "Long-Term Achievements in Research and Development on Vehicle Emission Analysis Techniques and Noxious Substance Reduction Techniques." Katsuya Nishiguchi, Toshiyuki Gendo, Kenji Takase, Yohei Shoji and Kunihiko Tao won the Technological Development Award for "Development of Iron-Aluminum Spot Friction Welding Technology."

2005 Chie Fukuhara won the Asahara Science Promotion Award for "Sensory Evaluation of ‘Feeling of Acceleration’ Using a Driving Simulator - Quantification of Interaction in Evaluation of ‘Feeling of Acceleration’ during Gradual Acceleration Tracking Run."