Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. Announces Year Two Results of the Urban Small Motors Emissions Abatement Project
February 06, 2023 at 12:31 pm EST
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Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. announced year two results of the Urban Small Motors Emissions Abatement Project (USMEAP) with the City of Burnaby, and its extension for year three. The first year of the project was challenging, in that unseasonably hot and dry weather limited the usage of the test equipment; despite this, the first year of testing showed that Aether's catalyst deployed in Burnaby's equipment resulted in a significant NOx abatement (of the order of 60%). NOx contributes to smog, acid rain and ground level ozone formation - all of which are significant health hazards. Once the catalyst was pulled from the mowers at the end of the season, it was discovered that a flaw in the packaging had allowed the catalyst to break up and resulted in significant "blow by", where untreated
emissions were able to pass through without contact with the catalyst. This was addressed in the lead up to year two of the program. For year two, the program was expanded to 6 units equipped with Aether catalysts, thereby increasing the data set. Additionally, technology from the first test was adjusted to maintain peak performance over a greater operating lifespan. All units had over 100 hours of usage and 3 had over 150 hours; there does not appear to be a correlation between higher usage and lower performance. 4 units showed 100% NOx reduction after >100 hours usage; the remaining two were at 95% & 96% (likely analyzer error). Aether validated air injection concept - an external air pump was used to approximate the effect of air injection. This resulted in 40% HC conversion and 60% CO conversion (in addition to the NOx reduction); higher air flow, or more efficient engine operation could increase this oxidation of HC and CO further. The program has been renewed for 2023. Current dataset is sufficient to begin OEM outreach. o For the USMEAP, Aether was able to make use of the muffler housing, substituting its catalyst for existing muffler material; resulting in a plug and play solution with high performance, requiring minimal engineering, and no loss of sound dampening.
Aether Catalyst Solutions, Inc. is a Canada-based clean-air technology company. The Company is engaged in the development and commercialization of catalytic materials, initially for use in gasoline engine automotive emissions abatement, but with other possible applications, including for instance, diesel, stationary power and volatile organic compounds. The Companyâs primary focus has been on catalyst development for the transportation and small motors industries, both significant contributors to urban air pollution. Its subsidiary company explores other applications of its clean-air technology. Its catalytic converter is a vehicle emissions control device, which converts toxic by-products of combustion to less toxic substances by way of catalyzed chemical reactions. Its catalysts can be processed using wash-coating methods. The Company has third-party testing to validate internal performance tests of its catalysts.
AETHER CATALYST SOLUTIONS, INC. 
