MONROE, Conn. (Aug. 16, 2004 — Combustion Components, a manufacturer of air pollution control technologies, announced that its ELIM-NOx SCR system will be incorporated on 6 diesel trucks in the New York and 12 off-road construction trucks in California.

The ELIM-NOx system works on the principals of SCR — Selective catalytic reduction. SCR is the choice for Europe’s next round of emissions rules (called Euro 4) in October 2005, which are roughly equivalent to the 2007 North American standards. It’s a well-developed technology that reduces NOx while returning better fuel consumption than EGR. It uses ammonia produced on board the vehicle from a non-toxic, easy-to-handle aqueous urea solution.

The company says a unique feature in the ELIM-NOx, is the proprietary “self-learn” monitoring system. This system uses sensors to measure NOx, exhaust temperature and record various engine parameters. It is temporarily mounted on the diesel truck for recording data as the vehicle operates in
its normal driving conditions.

The orders, which exceed $400,000, represent the first large commercial contract for ELIM-NOx since it was commercialized for retrofit on existing on-road and off-road diesel
applications and new trucks in early 2004, the company says.

CCA’s technology is designed to achieve 90 per cent NOx reduction while overcoming any fuel economy penalties. Additionally, vehicles need not use ultra low sulfur diesel fuel oil, the company says.

The company hopes the technology will assist engine makers with complying with 2010 EPA regulations, which require a 90 per cent in NOx.

The downside of SCR is that it demands a supply network for the urea, with special pumps for filling the urea tank at truckstops and fleet yards.

Another reason every U.S. engine maker chose instead to expand on ’02 EGR or ACERT technology for 2007, is because, to get to 2007 NOx levels, trucks would have to feed urea into the system at a rate of five per cent of fuel used. With urea and diesel priced about the same, it would get expensive. The numbers work in Europe, where fuel is by far the more expensive of the two.

But some engine makers haven’t ruled it out for 2010.
Some engine makers such as Detroit Diesel and Volvo have extensive experience with the technology, and Cummins says it’s already using it in some off-highway applications.

Volvo says it “will continue to participate in U.S. industry efforts to develop a national distribution infrastructure for urea.” And Detroit Diesel calls it “a viable alternative for 2010.”