Unifrax shares Off Road Emissions Control News from MECA and 2018 CVEPT China Conference

November 19, 2018

The following is a news release recently shared from The Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association (MECA). This press release shared by MECA is the first emission reduction initiative the EPA, under the current administration, has been friendly towards.  Unifrax emission control support mats could be used as part of the low NOx HDD emission control technology design.

MECA Applauds EPA Launch of Cleaner Trucks Initiative

The Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association (MECA) today applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for launching this week the Cleaner Trucks Initiative (CTI) to further decrease nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from on-road, heavy-duty trucks and engines. Strengthening the current heavy-duty NOx standards will provide significant air quality and public health benefits for the U.S. and will help bring state-of-the-art, heavy-duty NOx-reduction technologies to the marketplace.

“The U.S. has made impressive reductions in emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, but it has been nearly two decades since EPA revised the federal standards,” MECA Executive Director Rasto Brezny said. “Twenty years have brought evolutionary improvements in emission control technologies that have reduced NOx emissions from passenger cars to very low levels and these improvements can benefit trucks as well. The Cleaner Trucks Initiative provides a welcome opportunity for EPA, states, and industry to once again work together on a national program to further reduce NOx emissions from this important transportation sector.”

MECA believes that additional NOx emission reductions from new on-road, heavy-duty engines beyond the current EPA 2010 requirements are achievable and cost-effective by combining the improvements made to engines, emission control technologies, and fuels over the past twenty years. The emission control technologies that will deliver lower NOx emissions in the future will not look much different than they do today, incorporating advancements in substrates, catalysts, and calibrations. The California ARB, South Coast AQMD, MECA, and engine manufacturers have partnered to demonstrate the ability of these advanced emission control technologies to reduce NOx from heavy-duty engines in an ongoing demonstration program at Southwest Research Institute (see: https://www.arb.ca.gov/research/veh-emissions/low-nox/low-nox.htm). Furthermore, these advanced NOx emission controls are compatible with powertrain efficiency technologies to optimize vehicle fuel economy.

The CTI could be one important way that allows areas across the country to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and particulate matter. Nonattainment areas in the U.S. will continue to need strategies that reduce NOx emissions in order to meet ozone attainment deadlines, and we believe that strategies for mobile sources can deliver these reductions more cost effectively than those for most stationary sources. MECA funded an independent study in 2015 (see: http://www.meca.org/resources/MECA_NOx_Modeling_Report_0618.pdf) to better understand the NOx reduction benefits of an updated, national heavy-duty program such as the CTI. Using EPA MOVES modeling, the study forecasted that an assumed 90% reduction in NOx below current emission levels for trucks could achieve as much as 130,000 tons per year in NOx reductions across the country in 2030 and 266,000 tons per year in 2050 as the rule is fully implemented and the fleet turns over to the cleanest trucks.

The CTI will also provide an opportunity for EPA and California to review and amend existing heavy-duty program requirements, including improvements to onboard diagnostic (OBD) monitoring, emissions warranties, certification and in-use testing protocols, and test procedures to ensure cost-effective emission reductions occur in the real world and not just in the laboratory.

“MECA and our member companies have played an important role in the air quality success story associated with heavy-duty vehicles in the U.S., and for over 40 years we have supported EPA’s efforts to develop innovative, technology-neutral, emission control programs to mitigate air pollution problems and minimize the impacts of climate change,” Brezny added. “We look forward to working with EPA and other stakeholders on an updated heavy-duty program that achieves additional NOx reductions on the road and provides regulatory certainty for our industry.”

Founded in 1976, MECA is a national association of companies that manufacture emission control, combustion efficiency, and GHG reduction technologies for a range of mobile sources, including cars, trucks, buses, and off-road vehicles and equipment, as well as stationary internal combustion engines. For more information, please visit us on our website (www.meca.org) and on Twitter (@MECAforCleanAir).

Unifrax Participates at the 2018 CVEPT Off Road Emissions Control Conference, Suzhou, China

On November 6th Unifrax presented at the 2018 CVEPT Off Road emissions control conference in Suzhou, China, along with Key OEMs including John Deere and MTU, as well as system and catalyst suppliers Tenneco and Umicore. Unifrax’s own David Kneale was the host for the day and introduced the speakers and answered questions for those present to discuss the hot topics of the day. The conference was attended by many of the leading off road OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in China and was a testament to the interest which is being shown in this area due to the new stage 4 regulations which are planned to come into force in 2020.

In the morning session we heard mainly from OEMs and Regulators – sharing with us how big a challenge it is going to be to meet the regulations on time but that it is the unstoppable direction of the current policy and so all companies need to pull together and give support to accomplish a tight timeline. We also heard from the head of the Chinese Agricultural Engine Industry Association who shared with us how China is one of the fastest growing segments for agricultural engine applications due to the large food demand and current lower per capita production and higher costs of Chinese farm produce.

In the afternoon, Unifrax’s Asia Application Engineering Manager, Tim Tang presented Unifrax’s solutions for catalytic converter support mats and insulations for Off Road applications. Most applications in China will use a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst and a Diesel Particle Filter which coupled with the typical high vibration loads for off road engines make the applications very challenging. Unifrax has a successful history of supplying to all kinds of off road applications from farm equipment to construction machinery and gensets.

If you’d like to learn more about how we can help solve your emission control challenges:

Visit our website or call your local Unifrax application team to get started!