GEO2 gets $185,000 from CARB for diesel (and gasoline) particulate filters
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently awarded GEO2 Technologies a grant of $185,000 to broaden the engine range on which GEO2's diesel particulate filters (DPFs) can be installed. I won't even pretend to understand how the GEO's "patented, cross-linked microstructure" helps these DPFs remove "99 percent of pollutants from diesel exhaust while achieving high fuel economy, emissions control and enhanced engine performance," but all that sounds like a good thing. There are more details in the release after the jump.The money came from CARB's Innovative Clean Air Technologies (ICAT) program and will go to putting the filters on large off-road diesel engines and small hand-held engines, a project that will cost $370,000. The GEO2 CEO, Rob Lachenauer, said that the DPF microstructure will allow the units to be used on large and small engines and on diesel and gas engines. GPFs, anyone?
Related:
[Source: GEO2]
Press Release:
GEO2 Technologies Receives Top Grant from California Air Resources Board
Patented, cross-linked microstructure recognized as cutting-edge clean air technology
Woburn, Mass., February 11, 2008 – GEO2 Technologies Inc., a leading developer of multifunctional filters for next-generation clean diesel solutions, today announced it has received $185,000 in grant funding from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to further the use of its patented diesel particulate filters (DPF) on a broader range of engine applications and operating conditions. GEO2's patented Cross-Linked Microstructure (CLMTM) removes 99 percent of pollutants from diesel exhaust while achieving high fuel economy, emissions control and enhanced engine performance.
CARB's Innovative Clean Air Technologies (ICAT) program approved nearly $500,000 in grants this year to facilitate the commercialization of cutting-edge clean air technologies, and the board selected just three recipients from a pool of 62 distinguished applicants. Selection was based on quality of innovation and potential for emissions reduction and commercialization.
"We are honored to receive this grant and view it as validation of the GEO2 technology platform, which utilizes an advanced microstructure to improve the filtration and catalytic conversion efficiency of emission control systems," said Rob Lachenauer, CEO for GEO2 Technologies. "We look forward to demonstrating the benefits of our cross-linked microstructure (GEO2 CLM™) for both small and large engines, including gasoline and diesel, and to advancing the commercialization of these filters in order improve the environment and fuel-efficiency."
GEO2 will use the ICAT funds to install its advanced DPFs on large off-road diesel engines and small hand-held engines, a $370,000 endeavor. Diesel was once avoided and seen as dirty, but new filtering technologies have established clean diesel as a trusted means of reducing harmful exhaust levels in the atmosphere and achieving 20 to 30 percent better fuel economy than gasoline. GEO2's CLM is a next-generation clean diesel technology that reduces the frequency of filter regenerations and has the potential to reduce the overall costs associated with using DPFs.
"The leap from idea to commercialization is often the biggest roadblock," said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols. "The grant to GEO2 gives us a chance to demonstrate a budding new technology that could reduce levels of California's biggest airborne problem, diesel particulate matter."
GEO2's filters, which VP of Product Development Bilal Zuberi will present at the SAE World Congress on April 14-17 in Detroit, MI, are high-temperature media that enable multiple functions within a single filter without sacrificing engine performance or profits. This technology can also be applied to non-automotive applications such as air-oil filtration, absorptive separation and pre-filtration. For more information about GEO2 Technologies and its product portfolio, visit www.geo2tech.com.
About GEO2 Technologies
GEO2 Technologies Inc., a leading developer of multifunctional filters for next-generation clean diesel solutions, is helping to meet the global need for better fuel economy with reduced emissions. The company has pioneered a patented, cross-linked microstructure (CLM) for diesel particulate filtering and other gas and fluid emission control applications. This microstructure achieves the previously-unattainable combination of high porosity, high filtration efficiency, high temperature resistance and low back pressure. The filter, which breaks traditional compromises in strength and porosity, enables flexibility in system design and thereby reduces a system's cost, weight and size. As a result, automakers can offer clean diesel models more quickly and cost-effectively without downgrading performance. GEO2 works directly with ceramic and catalyst companies, as well as automakers, that design, manufacture and sell products based on GEO2's technology, to provide a competitive advantage in the fast-growth diesel market. Headquartered in Woburn, Mass., the company's proven materials technology was developed by respected scientists and engineers in the filtration, ceramics, emissions and automotive industries. For more information, visit www.geo2tech.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rgseidl 10:55AM (2/11/2008)
Since when do properly designed gasoline engines - even the very few featuring stratified GDI - need a DPF at all?
Btw, truck engines - i.e. the vast majority of diesels on US roads today - generally run at exhaust gas temperatures high enough to ensure adequate particulate clean-up using what is known as a continuously regenerating trap (CRT).
The GEO2 technology appears to be merely an enhancement on the wall-flow design used primarily for passenger car diesels. While very effective, these systems require carefully controlled purge cycles.
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Steve 1:00PM (2/11/2008)
But don't the 1% of particles not filtered pose a significantly greater cancer risk for those inhaling them than the larger particles that ARE filtered? I'm hesitant to just jump on board with these because I've heard that the smaller the particles, the more dangerous. Which means filtering the big ones doesn't really accomplish all that much.
Anyone got more information on that?
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meme 11:45AM (2/11/2008)
I love the fact that it can be applied to small diesels. Right now, there's a distinct lack of small diesels that can meet CARB requirements. It forced Aptera to use a gasoline engine instead of a diesel in the Typ-1h plug-in hybrid. Perhaps this will allow them to move back to a diesel. :)
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wxman 11:42AM (2/11/2008)
I actually think it's a good idea to add particle filters to gasoline engines (especially SIDI) since they still emit particle numbers that may equal or exceed uncontrolled diesel engines under some circumstances. Particles from gasoline engines are typically smaller, thus have less mass, than diesel engines. But recent studies have shown that these extremely small particles (ultrafines and nanoparticles) may have even greater health implications.
Furthermore, many source apportionment studies in the U.S. have shown that gasoline engines contribute more PM mass than diesel engines (see North Front Range Air Quality Study; Eugene Kim, Philip K. Hopke, “Source Apportionment of Fine Particles in Washington, DC, Utilizing Temperature-Resolved Carbon Fractions.” Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, Volume 54, July 2004, Pages 773-785; http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/deer_2007/poster3/deer07_lawson.pdf
slide #2).
If regulators are really interested in better air quality, they need to start looking at gasoline engines, in my opinion.
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wxman 5:32PM (2/11/2008)
Steve - DPF appears to be about equally effective across the entire particle size distribution.
See, for example, slides #10 and #11 of this presentation:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/deer_2003/session9/2003_deer_storey.pdf
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