BASF announces HC trap technology for LEV III evaporative emission control

14 January 2014

BASF announced the EvapTrap™ automotive air intake system hydrocarbon trap, which can be applied directly onto the surface of a vehicle’s air intake box to adsorb engine hydrocarbons without increasing backpressure. The technology is intended for the control of evaporative emissions in California LEV III applications.

The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has adopted LEV III emission regulations which go into effect in 2015, requiring automakers to further reduce evaporative emissions. Under these regulations, light-duty SULEV vehicles would have to meet a more stringent “zero” evaporative standard, while using more challenging test fuels (such as E10).

“The EvapTrap provides a powerful solution to meet pending SULEV evaporative emissions standards while allowing auto manufacturers to use their existing air intake box, thus reducing complexity and cost for the OEM,” said Nick Leclerc, Product Manager, BASF Mobile Emissions Catalysts.

The air intake system is a key source of evaporative emissions for automobiles as hydrocarbons in the engine’s fuel source can leak out through the system when the car is not running. Traditional solutions involve adding an activated carbon honeycomb or filter to the air intake box to adsorb the hydrocarbons. However, this approach can increase backpressure, while the EvapTrap addresses the evaporative emissions challenge without any backpressure increase, said BASF.

Evaporative emissions are measured in a SHED (Sealed Housing for Evaporative Determination) test, which is a drive-in chamber built for the purpose of testing the fuel emissions of a vehicle that are not related to engine exhaust. The EvapTrap has been successfully SHED-tested—according to BASF—and proven to offer adhesion durability to all air intake box materials, including polypropylene.

The EvapTrap is part of BASF’s SULEV System Solutions portfolio—said the company—which includes three way catalysts (TWC), PremAir® direct ozone reduction catalysts and four way catalysts (FWC™)—the latter technology being a TWC optimized for PM/PN emission reduction from gasoline engines.

Source: BASF