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MacRobert Award
2000 Winner
[News Release]
Johnson Matthey Catalytic Systems Division has won the MacRobert Award 2000 for the Continuously Regenerating Trap to control diesel vehicle pollution.
Johnson Matthey is a British company with world-leading technology in emission control. Johnson Matthey first won the MacRobert Award in 1980 for the autocatalyst and is now the largest autocatalyst producer in the world.
 The Continuously Regenerating Trap (CRT™) is an emission control device for trucks and buses, that simultaneously controls particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions from diesel exhaust. The CRT has already been retrofitted to over 10,000 trucks, buses, mobile and stationary plant across Europe, USA and Japan. As the first truly reliable way of removing soot particles from diesel exhaust it was awarded Millennium Product status in 1999.
By fitting the CRT, heavy-duty vehicle owners can continue to benefit from the efficient fuel consumption of a diesel vehicle whilst achieving greatly reduced pollutant emissions, including those of particulate matter increasingly implicated in lung and heart disease.
Johnson Matthey have come up with an elegantly simple solution to soot combustion in the formulation of a catalyst to oxidise nitric oxide in exhaust gas into nitrogen dioxide which then burns off the soot, trapped within the filter section of the CRT, at exhaust gas temperatures typical of a diesel truck or bus.
 As the nitrogen dioxide is continuously produced, the soot destruction occurs continuously hence the name Continuously Regenerating Trap.
In addition to nitrogen dioxide formation for soot control, the CRT's oxidation catalyst converts carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons into CO2 and water. The CRT thus reduces emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulates from heavy-duty vehicle exhaust by up to 90%.
The CRT is simple to fit, requires minimal maintenance and has proved itself in the toughest applications. Sales of this product are now doubling annually with systems being sold across Europe and the US and with the impending stringent emissions legislation from 2005 it has a potential market of over 600,000 vehicles a year.
The winning team consists of Dr Barry Cooper, Mr Jim Thoss, Mr Pr Jones and Dr Pelham Hawker. Dr Barry Cooper was also a member of Johnson Matthey's 1980 auto catalyst team and so becomes the first person to receive a MacRobert award twice.
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