NAGERCOIL: Dr Sivanandi Rajadurai, a Kanyakumari-based scientist and automotive technician, has developed an emission control system that claims to meet US and European vehicle environmental control norms.
World transport-energy use is projected to increase at 2 per cent a year, the highest being in emerging economies, and carbon emissions are projected to be about 80 per cent higher by 2030 than current levels. Automobiles generate nearly 1.5 billion tonne of carbon dioxide annually.
The most promising strategy to check these emissions (called greenhouse gases) is substantial improvements in vehiclemanufacturing technologies, he added.
The principal pollutants from gasoline-powered vehicles are hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). For diesel-powered vehicles and engines, NOx and particulate matter (PM) are the principal pollutants, apart from HC and CO.
Efforts to convert these emissions into nitrogen (N2) and water vapour (H2O) culminated in catalytic converters, introduced in the US in 1975 and in India, in 1998.
Dr Rajadurai, along with his team, has developed a new Generation Emission Control System (GECS) to comply with US EPA Tier 2 Bin 5 regulation, which is 0.07g/mile nitrogen oxide, 0.09 g/mile non-methane organic gases, 4.2g/mile carbon monoxide. He also claims to have developed systems to meet Euro 4 regulations, of 0.25g/km nitrogen oxide, 0.3 g/km NOx and hydrocarbon, 0.5g/km carbon monoxide and 0.025g/km particulate matter. The current vehicles in India follow Euro 2 and Euro 3 regulations.