There’s a growing challenge in the fight for cleaner cars and a healthier planet. It’s invisible. The culprits can fit by the thousands on the head of a pin and they measure 20 times smaller in diameter than a human hair. They also have the potential to cause heart, lung, and other health issues.
The challenge is PM2.5, a mix of microscopic particles of airborne carbon soot and other harmful chemicals that currently flow out of the tailpipes of most gasoline cars, including popular gasoline-direct-injection (GDI) engines. These engines deliver the fuel efficiency and performance drivers are looking for, but generate a high amount of PM2.5.
Corning’s newest automotive exhaust filter, called a gasoline particulate filter (GPF), is a solution that traps PM2.5 before it enters the air we breathe. Corning produced its one millionth Corning® DuraTrap® GC gasoline particulate filter as the technology gains adoption on gasoline cars in Europe and China, the first markets in a business that Corning expects will add an estimated $500 million in annual sales by 2023 once China 6 regulations are fully implemented.
“This production milestone marks the introduction of a next-generation emissions control solution with proven capability to help our customers meet new emissions standards and advance their gasoline systems to be cleaner and safer,” said Hal Nelson, vice president and general manager, Corning Environmental Technologies.
The company is working with most major automakers to equip their new European gasoline engine platforms with DuraTrap® GC gasoline particulate filters. To prepare for demand from committed customers, Corning began expanding its Kaiserslautern manufacturing facility in 2016. Demand has been driven by stricter European regulations, known as Euro 6d, that are set to fully phase in by September 2018. To meet these new standards, automakers are introducing new technologies and engineering improvements into their gasoline systems, including the use of particulate filtration, a technology proven on diesel passenger vehicles in Europe since the early 2000s.