A technician removes a diesel particulate filter (DPF) from a school bus for cleaning.
Two common DPFs used in school buses.
The flow test cleaning recovery certification process.
A technician loads a
DPF into the TrapBlaster manufactured by FSX Inc.
More than 6,000 ceramic filter cells trap 99 percent of the soot and ash from the engine, which used to escape the tailpipe in a puff of acrid, black smoke.
The DPF works so effectively that essentially only hydrogen
steam passes through the outlet. Still, the equipment is extremely fragile and needs regular maintenance.
S
everal issues rise to the top when looking at fund- ing emissions reduction technology for school buses: Diesel particulate filters and diesel oxidation filters are expensive to buy and maintain; school districts need federal grant money to afford the technology;
manufacturers know this and provide technical expertise to help school districts compete for grants. Springfield Public Schools is located in the Pioneer Valley in
western Massachusetts. Te air there tends to stagnate and hold on to everything, especially pollutants. As a result, the area has one of the highest asthma rates in the country, including a child- hood asthma rate above 10 percent. And the district’s diesel fuel buses made things worse. In response to an EPA edict in 2007 to clean up school bus diesel engine emissions, transportation officials began identify-
ing funding sources to clean up the diesel emissions from the district’s 134 buses. Tey found a $50,000 grant from a global environmental group called the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). Te money was used to retrofit 40 buses with Diesel Oxidation Catalysts (DOC). ICLEI received the money as part of a larger grant under the EPA’s Northeast Clean School Bus Initiative. “I recall completing the grant application,” said Maria
D’Angelantonio, administrator of transportation services. “It was a very simple process. We worked with ICLEI’s Regional Capacity Center in Boston.” Te district added weight to its grant application by forging a
partnership with the Springfield Asthma Coalition. D’Angelantonio said the only glitch in the process came after the grant was awarded. “Our bump in the road was the actual availability of the DOCs
www.stnonline.com 59
▲
▲
▲
▲
▲
▲
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100