Application of Low-Mass Corning® FLORA® Substrate for Cold-Start Emissions Reduction to Meet Upcoming LEV III SULEV30 Regulation Requirement

With upcoming US Tier 3 / LEV III emissions regulation set for full implementation in 2025, significant efforts are being made within the industry to meet the fleet average SULEV30 requirement. With the current vehicle technology, cold-start emissions generated in the first sixty seconds can make up to 70% of total tailpipe emission over the FTP-75 certification cycle. Therefore, the improvement in the performance of catalyzed substrates during cold-start becomes essential for total tailpipe emissions reduction. Low-mass substrate technology offers a significant reduction in time to light-off enabling a reduction in cold-start emissions while meeting customer mechanical durability and thermo-mechanical requirements. The ability of this lower-mass substrate to improve light-off time compared to conventional higher-mass substrates has been measured through fundamental modeling and vehicle dyno testing and verified to deliver up to 20% improvement in total tailpipe emissions over the entire emissions cycle and across a wide array of vehicle platforms with various engine cold-start calibration technologies. Alternatively, low-mass substrate technology can be applied with reductions in platinum group metals (PGM) to maintain equivalent emissions performance in comparison to higher-mass, higher-PGM-loaded substrates.