TEST, SAFETY, SYSTEMS
AN INVISIBLE THREAT The primary source of a car’s emissions is its exhaust, however drivers can be exposed to harmful emissions via the vehicle’s indoor ventilators and open windows. This issue is especially pronounced in cities, where congestion exceeds acceptable thresholds by five times. To combat this, low-emission zones have been introduced in some areas to tackle urban air pollution, but more work needs to be done. For instance, “cold start” engines
release significantly higher emissions because their catalytic converters, filters and oxidisers function inefficiently until the engine reaches normal operating temperature. Drivers are exposed to the most concentrated mix of harmful chemicals during manoeuvres such as slow-speed reversing out of a driveway.
REGENERATIVE EMISSIONS TREATMENT Vehicles can be fitted with a system at the exhaust that transforms emissions into clean air. Krajete – a specialist in car emissions treatment technologies – is particularly active in this area. The company’s emissions treatment solution can be installed at the exhaust or in a bypass setup to effectively tackle cold start emissions.
Harmful emissions are an unavoidable byproduct of hydrocarbon combustion in ICE vehicles
The emissions filter, installed during
vehicle manufacturing, removes harmful small components like CO, NOx and SOx in a regenerative manner, instead of catalytically destroying them. Essentially, the solution is a large sponge with an affinity to target gases that use physisorption rather than chemisorption, meaning bonds between the filter and gases are weaker and they can be recovered after. When tested, the technology reduces harmful emissions from across the spectrum by around 90%. The fact that the system is
Ship engines offer large research potential for emissions treatment
regenerative allows for the captured and stored gases to be reused in other areas. Alternatively, the captured gases can be sold onwards to a third party, generating new revenue streams from what are otherwise problematic emissions. For example, captured gases can be used in industrial-scale acid production. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) serves as a key intermediate in the production of nitric acid, which is crucial for manufacturing fertilisers and explosives. Additionally, NO2 plays an important role in the semiconductor industry, where it is used as an oxidising agent in etching processes. Sulfur dioxide (SO2), meanwhile, is
a critical component in sulfuric acid production and has applications in the petroleum industry, particularly in refining processes where it helps to remove impurities from fuel. By incorporating captured gases in such applications, we can reduce the need for traditional industrial production, thereby improving sustainability across the entire industrial ecosystem.
SHIPPING OUT Cars are not the only source of harmful gas emissions, however. Fortunately this technology can be used in other areas beyond car emissions and applied to agricultural vehicles, like tractors and harvesters, and even large cargo ships. Catalyst manufacturers often prioritise smaller engines over large-scale ones, leaving ship engines as an untapped area of research. These engines present a significant
opportunity to investigate their contribution to the overall CO2 emissions in transportation. With current growth trends, the shipping industry could account for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. While electrification is progressing rapidly in the automotive sector, which will address some issues with car emissions, other industries like agriculture and freight shipping will rely on combustion engines for many decades to come, and there is little regulation or focus on change in these sectors.
Dr Alexander Krajete is founder and CEO of Krajete.
www.krajete.com
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