Some oxygenated hydrocarbons were tested as pure fuels in two different DI diesel engines, and their emission potential was compared to n-tetradecane combustion. Two colours pyrometry method was used to infer in-cylinder sooting tendency of tested fuels. Pure pyrolysis of the same fuels was also investigated in a conventional shock tube at high temperature (1700-2500 K) and pressure (9-13 bar), using light scattering/extinction methods. All oxygenated compounds tested in the engines exhibited a strong decrease of soot loading compared with tetradecane combustion. The long soot induction times, as measured in shock tube experiments, and the oxygen content of the fuel molecules seem to provide a plausible explanation of soot lacking in oxygenated fuels combustion. Emission measurements at the exhaust of a four cylinder engine fully confirm the trends obtained by two colours pyrometry and shock tube experiments. As a matter of fact, the oxygenated synthetic fuels strongly reduce both gaseous and total particulate emissions.