Cordierite Filter Durability with Cerium Fuel Additive: 100,000 km of Revenue Service in Athens 920363

The first two of a series of traps retrofitted on a pilot fleet of 110 buses of the Athens Bus Corporation were removed for examination after 100,000 km of revenue service. These buses were gradually equipped with the ELBO Trap Oxidiser since the beginning of 1989 and are constantly operated on Cerium based fuel additive. The physical properties and the chemical composition of filters and ash residues were analysed by the filter manufacturers and the fuel additive producer. The results have shown that after two years of operation the filter material remained intact and the ash deposits (consisting mainly of CeO₂) exhibit a limited interaction with the cordierite. More than 94% of these deposits are filtered by the monoliths and could be removed to a large extent with the application of conventional methods.