Researchers at the University of Houston use a $1 million grant from the EPA to retrofit Houston Independent School District (HISD) school buses and gauge the technology’s effectiveness.
The Texas Diesel Testing and Research Center at UH was awarded the $1 million grant from the EPA’s emerging technology program.
“We are demonstrating the real world usage of Emerging Technology retrofits designed to lower harmful tailpipe emissions from diesel engines,” said Rachel L. Muncrief, PhD, a research assistant professor at UH. “In order to confirm that the units are operating as advertised we will perform extensive emissions testing both in the lab and out in the field.”
Researchers are partnering with manufacturer Nett Technologies and HISD to install retrofits on 10 school buses. After the units have been “de-greened,” emissions testing will be performed to measure the efficiency of the retrofit in reducing emissions. The buses will then be put back in the fleet, and after the units are “partially aged,” another round of testing will be performed to see how well the units responded over time.
“We know that the newer model buses are much cleaner than the ones from even a few years ago; however, retrofits can be a way of reducing the harmful emissions without having to purchase a brand new bus,” explained Muncrief. “Therefore, it could be a more cost effective solution for bus fleets who are looking to lower their pollution footprint, but do not have the funds to purchase a new fleet of buses.”
The team at the Texas Diesel Testing and Research Center also plans to give some HISD high school students a chance to observe some of the testing as part of the project.
“We would hopefully encourage them to get excited about pollution reduction or potentially become interested in attending college to study engineering,” added Muncrief.
