Reducing Transportation Fire Risk Through Carbon Dot Addition for Diesel Fuels

Diesel fuel is essential to freight transportation across the United States and is transported in large volumes by pipeline, tanker truck, and rail. During transportation accidents such as highway collisions, tanker rollovers, and rail derailments, released diesel fuel can ignite and produce high-consequence fires that threaten motorists, infrastructure, first responders, and nearby communities. Current safety strategies focus primarily on vehicle and containment design rather than reducing the intrinsic flammability of the transported fuel. This project evaluates a fuel-level fire mitigation strategy through the use of carbon dot nanoparticles as fire-limiting additives in diesel fuel. The research will experimentally quantify ignition delay, flame persistence, burning behavior, and extinction characteristics using droplet-scale combustion testing representative of accidental spill and spray conditions. In parallel, the study will assess suspension stability and compatibility of carbon dot–diesel mixtures to ensure practical storage, handling, and transportation performance. The objective is to identify additive concentrations that measurably reduce fire risk without degrading fuel performance.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $147,346.00
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3552348307

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Managing Organizations:

  Mid-America Transportation Center

  University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68583-0851
• Project Managers:

  Bruner, Britain

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Iowa, Iowa City

  National Advanced Driving Simulator, 2401 Oakdale Blvd
  Iowa City, IA  United States  52242-5003
• Principal Investigators:

  Ratner, Albert

• Start Date: 20260601
• Expected Completion Date: 20270531
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Additives; Combustion; Diesel fuels; Flammability; Hazardous materials; Nanostructured materials; Risk management
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Materials; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01989957
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Mid-America Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 69A3552348307
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: May 23 2026 6:02PM