A wide range of atomiser types have been developed for industrial applications — such as rotary, pressure, air-assist and air-blast atomisers. Each type works on the principle of applying mechanical or kinetic energy to disintegrate a jet or sheet of liquid fuel, in preparation for combustion. The aim is to sufficiently increase the surface area to volume ratio of the fuel and presents it in a form suitable for a consistent combustion process. Traditional liquid fuels, such as fossil fuels, have been employed for some decades and combustion systems (and atomisers) have been optimised for their use. However, combustion engineers are being increasingly forced to consider the use of alternative, biologically-derived hydrocarbon fuels. Such fuels often have very different viscosities, densities and surface tensions or possess complex, non-linear properties when compared to conventional fuels. Effervescent atomisation is a promising two-phase atomisation technique offering potential improvements in fluid atomisation quality and reductions in fluid operating pressures. It appears particularly well suited to the atomisation of viscous fuels such as biofuels; this applicability to alternative fuels has led to a renewed interest in the method. After an extensive literature review of the current state of this technology [1] an adjustable geometry effervescent atomiser was designed, built and studied at the Cardiff School of Engineering. Water and air were used as the operating fluids. The sprays produced by the atomiser were characterised using a Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA) system which allowed for simultaneous real-time droplet size and velocity data to be obtained. High quality data was achieved with data rates over 10 kHz and validation rates over 90% in 2-D LDA mode in the high density sprays. A PDA probe designed for dense spray applications was utilised. A number of important operating parameters identified during the literature review phase can be altered on the atomiser, and their effects on fuel spray quality investigated. The operating parameters investigated in this manner included air-to-liquid by mass ratio (ALR), pressure drop as well as a range of geometric parameters. This paper discusses and analyses the influence of ALR on the quality of atomisation and the associated two-phase flow field. Comparisons are made with previous studies and correlations, using earlier versions of the hardware or alternative techniques. Ongoing work will assess and optimise the performance of simulated biofuels mixtures.