Revving up greener, cleaner lawn mowers

If you've ever choked on a lung-full of exhaust from a lawn mower or motor boat, you might appreciate this product idea: a catalytic converter for small motors.

Filter company MemPro Ceramics has developed what it calls the NoxFox, a "catalytic filter" designed to neutralize air pollutants from lawn mower engines.

The company plans to produce the small devices--sized a few inches by a few inches--next year and is seeking to partner with small engine manufacturers, according to John M. Finley, CEO of MemPro Ceramics.

Cleaning up around the yard--a catalytic converter for gas mowers.

(Credit: MemPro Ceramics)

Lawn-care products and boats contribute significantly to air pollution. An hour of operating a lawn mower pollutes as much as 34 hours of driving a car, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

After a number of delays, the Environmental Protection Agency last week passed more stringent regulations to curb smog-causing hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, and other air pollutions.

The rules are set to take effect in 2010 and 2011, depending on the product category, and are expected to lead to the use of catalytic converters in lawn mowers and boats for the first time, according to the EPA.

When fully implemented, the rules will annually reduce 600,000 tons of hydrocarbons, 130,000 tons of nitrogen oxide, 5,500 tons of particulate matter, and 1.5 million tons of carbon monoxide, according to the EPA. It will cut gasoline consumption by 190 million gallons each year.

MemPro Ceramic's NoxFox device is designed to do exactly what car catalytic converters do: greatly reduce the carbon monoxide and nitric oxide pollutants from gasoline engines. It can also eliminate unburnt fuel in gaseous form.

The company has an exclusive license from the University of Akron to commercialize a method for manufacturing fibers made from nanoparticles.

"It's a little like cotton. It's a fibrous filter that a has a lot of surface area in it, which means it does a good job of exposing the catalyst to the bad gases," Finley explained.

The company chose to apply the technology to gas-powered small engines because that represents a clear addressable market worth about $140 million, he said.

"It fits very nicely on the muffler of a lawn mower, leaf blower, or power washer, which are just empty metal cavities," he said.

Longer term, MemPro Ceramics intends to target coal-fired power plant generators as well as power boats, motor cycles, and agricultural equipment.

The company may try to sell the device as an after-market attachment to lawn mowers, rather than fitted on by mower manufacturers, but it's unclear what the consumer demand for an add-on product is, Finley said.

Sen. Kit Bond, a Republican from Missouri, opposed the regulations, which led to a study as to whether catalytic converters on lawn mowers would create enough heat to start fires, according to an Associated Press article. The EPA concluded there is no safety concern.

Catalytic converters aren't the only way for manufacturers to comply with the EPA ruling. Some companies are developing fuel cells, which emit water vapor, for use on boats and forklifts.

Update on September 12, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. PT: corrected projected market size for lawn mower air filters.

[SirRobinOfPennsynvania]

I do not believe that a lawn mower in 1 hour of operation creates pollutants the equivalent of 35 hours of operating a car. I am very interested in efficiency--the unburned gas should be recycled and the pollutants trapped and safely released to benefit the environments balance. Very soon gasoline will be phased out in favour of personal transport vehicles. It would be nice to extract pollutants directly from the air. Why stop there, we can extact methane as well. Wishful thinking! The buzz is definately on preventing pollutants from getting into the air, good solution, no one seems to be working to get the existing pollutants out of the air. It seems only plants are able to do this peacefully.

[drewbyh]

Why don't you believe the part about the 1 hour lawn mower operation? Do you just not believe because you don't want to or do you have some evidence to the contrary? Do this for me. While in an opened garage start your lawn mower and let it warm up. Now close the garage door and let me mower run for 15 mins. If you can still stand up write down how you feel and how difficult breathing is. Now do the some with a car produced after 1995. My guess is at the end of 15 mins you'll feel 34 times better with the car than the lawn mower. Just a thought.

[Tech-Guy]

I could see this really taking off, for two reasons- 1) you really can smell all of the fumes from a mower and its sometimes overwhelming and 2) "green" is in, and people would love to boast that they have a "green" lawnmower.

[Dr_Zinj]

If your lawn is so small that you push your lawn mower around, then it's small enough not to need a fossil fuel powered engine.

Try switching to a manually powered reel mower (especially if you have less than a half acre to mow). It's greener, less risk, and healthier for you and your environment. Plus, a powered mower costs 5 times more energy and 2 to 3 times more resources to make than a reel mower.

[Steve Jordan]

Maybe this will help promote a better alternative to gas: Electric mowers. Efficient, much quieter, and non-polluting... I've been using a cordless electric for the past 8 years, and I'll never buy a gas mower again.

[pevc]

My business here in Melbourne Australia is based on fuel saving and diesel exhaust emissions. The claim that one hour of lawn mowing is = to 34 hours of driving blew me away. The point is for anyone who lives in the USA and Canada this technology is already in the market place. eeFuel does the same job in the cylinder adding to the engines power output as well. For any one who is interested go to www.pevc.biz and look at the nano fuels page on my business website Cheers JM

[cristenc-gmail-223654812891135]

I had no idea that the impact of gas-fueled lawnmowers was so great. Even if the actual impact were just half of the EDF's claim, that is still *really* terrible. Thanks for the post.

[RechargeMower]

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