California Board Gives Grant for Clean Air Filters
GEO2 Technologies Inc., of Woburn, Mass., announced on Feb. 11 that it received $185,000 in grant funding from the California Air Resources Board to further the use of its patented diesel particulate filters (DPF) on a broader range of engine applications and operating conditions.
The company'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.
The board's Innovative Clean Air Technologies 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 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, chief executive officer for the company.
According to the press release, the company will use the grant funding to help 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.
"The leap from idea to commercialization is often the biggest roadblock," said board 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."
The filters, which will be presented at the SAE World Congress on April 14-17 in Detroit, Mich., are high-temperature media that enable multiple functions within a single filter without sacrificing engine performance or profits. This technology can be applied to non-automotive applications such as air-oil filtration, absorptive separation and pre-filtration.