Clean Diesel Technologies, Inc., has found a way to make diesel fuel burn cleaner. That means biodiesel, which already burns pretty clean, will be an even greener fuel.
Dr. Walter Copan, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Clean Diesel, says his company has developed a range of retrofit emissions control technologies, called Purifier. This new technology will help meet the requirements of new European LOw Emissions Zones (LEZs). One of these zones is about to take effect in London, England.
“The mayor of London, Ken Livingston, has spearheaded an initiative to bring cleaning technologies for new vehicles, as well as to retrofit the older, dirtier engines that are operating in the city,” says Copan. That’s where his company comes in.
“Clean Diesel’s Purifier technologies deliver robust emission control performance controlling particulate matter, the black smoke, that you see out of older diesels and those that do not have filters on them.”
So what about biodiesel that already has low particulate emissions?
“(Our technology is) a catalyst that helps the fuel itself burn more completely and more cleanly, and so the Purifier system working with biodiesel will have dramatically improved performance even in relation to current Number 2 diesel or ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel,” says Copan. “The Purifier technology has been demonstrated to be fully compatible with the biofuels in the market today.”
Listen to my full interview with Copan below:
[audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/audio/CopanLEZinterview.mp3]
Check out Clean Diesel Technologies on the web at www.cdti.com.
Fortunately, the longest presentation at the Ethanol Summit was one of the most interesting. Will Steger narrated a slide show of his various expeditions across frozen ice lands in Antarctica, the North Pole and the Greenland ice cap. He spoke of temperatures 30 degrees below freezing with 30 mile an hour winds. But, amidst all that freezing cold Will said he witnessed evidence that suggests the reality of global warming. Will said significant climate changes are causing large remnants of ice from the last ice age to break up and begin to melt. He said one ice shelf took him 21 days to cross and in 2002 the entire shelf disintegrated in just a matter of four weeks, and another ice shelf was completely gone a night after he crossed it. Will said these are real affects of global warming – a global warming he says the human population is contributing to and altering. For Will, the diminishing summer sea ice suggests the earth is experiencing what he calls “unnatural climate changes.” 
The “Ethanol Summit” included an impressive list of speakers and both local and national press arrived to cover it. The Ethanol Information and Promotional Council, IndyCar Series, Indianopolis Motor Speedway and Rahal Letterman Racing sponsored the event. EPIC officials said the summit was meant to commemorate what the company calls “monumental use” of 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol in the IndyCar® Series as well as ethanol’s first Indy 500 win.
Today’s Ethanol Summit is over and Laura McNamara is working up her coverage for you. She’ll have pictures and audio interviews posted soon.
Winning a two year lease on a Flex-Fuel Chevy Silverado would be pretty cool and apparently a lot of people thought so. 
Lobbyists for ConocoPhillips, Tyson, and the Soap and Detergent Association have jumped into the fight over whether oil companies should be able to use the credit. The IRS ruled last month that they should be able to. That prompted Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) to introduce a bill to repeal the ruling and narrow the tax break’s scope to what Congress had originally intended. 
Biodiesel giant Imperium Renewables is looking to get $345 million in investments in an initial public offering. You might remember Imperium from our previous posts 
It was an afternoon of dodging the drivers of cars, trucks and SUVs. All were eager to find their place at the pumps that offered E10 fuel for just $2.25. Finally, I bumped into IndyCar Driver Scott Sharp. He seemed just as enthusiastic as the consumers. Scott said he thinks the growing use of ethanol is exciting. He said the IndyCar Series deserves a lot of credit for being on the frontier of the ethanol industry. He pointed out that the transition to 100 percent ethanol was a big transformation for the series. Ultimately, Scott said ethanol offers more power in the cars’ engines and better fuel economy. He asked, if IndyCar Drivers can be out running 230 miles an hour on ethanol, “why can’t every car in America?” As Scott dished on the benefits of ethanol, he also freely doled out his autograph:
I made good time at the Gas America promotion and managed to keep a steady pace in tracking down the drivers. My chat with IndyCar Driver Sarah Fisher shed more light on what ethanol is doing for the