R&P wins EPA contract for on-vehicle PM measurement instrument

16 April 2003

Albany, NY-based Rupprecht & Patashnick Co., Inc. (R&P), announced an award of a research and development contract by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Ann Arbor, MI, for the design and construction of an On-Board Diesel Particulate Mass Measurement Module (OBDPM).

The objective of this contract is to provide EPA with two OBDPM units for the agency’s development of portable emission measurement systems. These systems will be used for on-board collection of real-world exhaust emissions data from on-highway and non-road vehicles. The work will be performed over an eighteen-month period, with the first phase to be completed later in 2003.

The OBDPM will be based upon a miniature version of R&P’s TEOM technology to provide real-time, filter-based, NIST-traceable mass measurements of diesel particulate matter (PM) while a vehicle is operating under normal daily conditions. The company had previously miniaturized the TEOM sensor under contract by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), to provide a battery operated wearable personal continuous dust monitor (PCDM) for the mining community. This EPA contract extends the application and integration of a continuous PM mass sensor into an on-vehicle system.

R&P’s current instrumentation for diesel particulate matter measurements includes the TEOM Series 1105 Diesel Particulate Monitor and the Model 6186 FRM Exhaust Filter Holder System. For more information email info@rpco.com.

Source: R&P