Diesel Engine Filter helps meet EPA regulations.
Press Release Summary:
Suited for off-road engines, Rypos Active Filter(TM) removes up to 90% of soot while using 1% of engine output. Since it is made of porous sintered metal mesh, electrical current generated by engine can be passed through it to burn off soot periodically. Automated circuitry monitors process and cleans filter when needed. Rypos Active Filter can be used with diesel oxidation catalyst to reduce soluble organic materials, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide in exhaust.
Original Press Release:
Advanced Diesel Engine Filter Cuts Cool Significantly is Eyed by Railroad, Back-up Power and Other Industries as New EPA Regs Loom
Locomotive engine tests under way in San Antonio are part a US EPA push to clean up diesel emissions on the West Coast
Rypos, Inc.'s market is fueled by new Federal and California environmental regulations and voluntary incentives to clean up diesel emissions
Getting behind a city bus is not as stinky as it used to be -thanks to environmental programs already in place.
While efforts continue to make both diesel-powered buses and trucks run cleaner, manufacturers and users of big off-road diesel engines now face increasingly tough regulations. At 15-liters or larger - the size of five Ford Taurus engines - these diesels power auxiliary and back-up generators, oilrigs and water pumps. Larger diesels, with wastebasket-sized pistons, that power locomotives and ships will also have to comply.
Upcoming EPA regulations, voluntary incentives and public pressure is forcing users of earlier diesel engines to retrofit them with new emission controls.
New - and myriad - EPA emission standards start in 2006 and get tougher by 2010. In addition, California, the bellwether state for environmental protection, is pushing diesel emission restrictions and encouraging voluntary compliance. Oregon, as well, has programs in place to encourage early compliance. The goal is to reduce particulates or soot by over 90 percent along with Nitrogen Oxides or NOx emissions.
While alternate power sources capture public imagination, diesel engines are hard to beat for extraordinary performance, fuel efficiency and durability - hence the support by government agencies, scientists and engineers to cut emissions to safe levels.
Rypos is part of EPA Initiative
To reduce particulates - plumes of black smoke emerging from diesel exhaust - Rypos, Inc. of Medway, Mass, developed the Rypos Active Filter(TM) that can remove up to 90 percent of soot while using only one percent of engine output. The filter automatically cleans or regenerates itself making it extremely reliable. Rypos is targeting heavy-duty, off-road engines initially and is expected to segue to small vehicle engines in a few years.
Notably, the Rypos Active Filter (TM) is now being tested for locomotive engine use at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio Texas. The tests, sponsored by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific Railroad, are part of an initiative by the US EPA and the West Coast Diesel Emissions Reductions Collaborative - a consortium of 400 West Coast businesses and state agencies seeking voluntary solutions, incentives and shared approaches to reduce diesel pollution in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska ahead of federally mandated deadlines.
How it works
Explains Klaus Peter, Rypos, Inc., president and founder, "Diesel engines can be detuned to run cleaner; but not sufficiently to meet the upcoming EPA regulations and the practice reduces power output. Passive filters, typically made of ceramic materials, impede the exhaust but increase backpressure, which any hot rodder knows decreases horsepower. To clean these filters, diesel fuel is sprayed directly into the exhaust stream and ignited to burn off the soot, which wastes fuel."
He adds, "The Rypos Active Filter(TM) is made of a more porous sintered metal mesh that looks like steel wool. Since metal is conductive, an electrical current generated by the engine can be passed through the metal to burn off soot periodically. The automated circuitry monitors the process and cleans the filter when needed - it's analogous to a self cleaning oven that knows when to go into its cleaning cycle."
Notes Dr. Osama Ibrahim, vice president, who headed the development team, "The Rypos Active Filter(TM) can be used with a diesel oxidation catalyst to reduce soluble organic materials, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide in the exhaust. The filter can replace the muffler and can usually be installed without modifying the engine housing."
In addition to locomotive tests, Rypos's proprietary technology is undergoing rigorous verification by California Clean Air Resources Board (GARB) which often leads the Federal government in setting environmental standards. Other ongoing evaluations focus on marine engine and both auxiliary and backup electric power generator applications.
The market
The locomotive retrofit market is lucrative and Rypos's technology could play a role in bringing 20,000 locomotive engines into EPA compliance - which is required during their next, regularly scheduled overhaul. Depending on a host of regulatory requirements, public pressure and incentive programs, diesel engines used for other off-road applications, including marine engines, will have to be retrofit to comply with forthcoming standards.
In addition to the retrofit market, an estimated 19 percent of the 1.5 million new diesel engines produced annually are manufactured for off-road and marine use. According to Diesel Progress magazine projections, over 94,500 large diesel generator sets were produced last year and the number is expected to grow at about 11 percent annually.
The Department of Energy is also taking aim at improving diesel technology and reducing emissions. At the latest DOE Diesel Engine Emissions Reduction Conference (DEER) in San Diego, 520 engine makers, industry leaders, scientists and environmental officials reviewed advanced technology to bring diesel engines into EPA compliance.
Frank DePetrillo, general manager of Rypos, Inc, presented Rypos's technology at the conference. He explains, "Futuristic technology such as hydrogen powered cars and fuel cells are promising, but the infrastructure won't be in place for decades. Alternate fuels, such as natural gas, don't pack as much power as diesel fuel. In the meantime, diesel engines are numerous, fuel efficient and produce 27 percent less carbon dioxide which is attributed to global warming."
