The potential of photo-catalysis as a self cleaning process is investigated for application inside refrigerator cabinets, taking advantage of the well known oxidative properties of titanium dioxide (anatase form). A low temperature in situ synthesis was adopted to obtain a catalytic layer over a polystyrene (PS) support. The synthesised material was characterised by SEM, XRD and BET analyses. Photo-catalytic activity towards organic dirt decomposition was measured through the oxidation of various organic dyes, as the perceivable decolouring of the dirt represents a clear activity indicator for users. The selected contaminants (Methylene Blue and Ortho-Cresole Red) and two refrigerator wastes (orange juice and tomato pulp) were tested at different concentrations. The results were evaluated through by colorimetric analysis. A clear photo-catalytic effect of dye discolouring was detected on the coated samples. The discolouring effect of the coated samples was comparable with that observed on the anatase powder.

The present work is aimed at developing oven walls with self-cleaning properties, via catalytically enhanced thermal oxidation of soiling material within the standard range of household oven, temperatures, i.e. up to 300°C. Some saturated fatty acids, e.g. myristic (tetradecanoic), palmitic (hexadecanoic) and stearic (octadecanoic) acids, were selected as single soiling compounds to investigate their thermal degradation behaviour under different operating conditions.MnCr2O4, LaFeO3 and CeO2 were chosen as oxidative catalysts and synthesized by the “Solution Combustion Synthesis” (SCS) method. The catalytic activity towards fatty acids was tested in a temperature programmed combustion (TPC) apparatus. The Ozawa method was adopted to calculate the activation energy for the catalytic combustion of palmitic acid on, e.g. ceria showing a very low value of 50kJ/mol compared to the 90kJ/mol for the non-catalytic combustion. The prepared catalysts were then deposited on steel sheet samples coated with commercial enamel by in situ spray pyrolysis. The obtained catalytic layers were characterized by SEM–EDS analysis to assess their integrity and adhesion to enamel and the obtained phases. The self-cleaning performance of the coated sample activity was measured in a standard oven, by performing a cooking cycle simulation (250°C for 60min; soiling by olive oil and pork lard); the weight loss and aesthetic appearance were benchmarked versus a bare, non-catalytic enamel surface. The CeO2 catalyst showed the best adhesion properties as well as the best performances towards the combustion of the three selected fatty acids, whereas the MnCr2O4 catalyst provided the best performance towards both the pork lard and the olive oil catalytic combustion with fat removal per cycle of about 18% and 40%, respectively.

The present work is aimed at investigating an improved automated cleaning process, capable of satisfying both customer and manufacturers needs, significantly reducing manual operations, by providing a cheaper alternative to pyrolytic ovens [1,2] with a similar added value. This aim will be pursued by developing oven walls with self cleaning properties, via catalytically enhanced thermal oxidation of soil at temperatures within the available range of standard ovens so to eliminate soil in real time during the cooking process. Oven soiling in mainly constituted by fatty acids splatters, thermally degraded by the prolonged exposure to oven walls temperature (up to 300°C), strongly adhered to the walls themselves. An automated cleaning product is implemented via high temperature (>500°C) cycles, lasting from 1 to 3 hours, organic remains are incinerated, hence easily removed as dust [3.4]. Several advantages could be reached by this system in terms of energy saving and economic materials to build the oven walls.

While incremental innovation is for most companies a well assessed process, radical product innovation is often handled with difficulty, mainly due to myriad obstacles in the idea-to cash process which limits company's ability to innovate. As a typical approach, engineers firstly try to find innovative solutions only inside their technological product space, basically thinking accordingly to their commonly assessed know-how. In this paper an industrial case is analyzed, showing how TRIZ methodology offers to technicians a systematic way to solve problematic contradictions and find effective ideas.

This paper describes an optical fibre sensor for the detection of NOx (NO2 and NO) and CO2 in the exhaust system of a road vehicle. The measurement is based on a free path interaction zone which is interrogated using UV and NIR light guiding optical fibres and collimated lenses. Results are presented in the absorption spectra of the gases in the UV region for the NOx gases and NIR region for CO2. These demonstrate that using this method it is feasible to identify the individual CO2, NO and NO2 species as well as other gases in the exhaust system. Measurement of concentrations to the level of ten's parts per million (ppm) have been demonstrated for the NOxx gases.

This paper describes an optical fibre sensor for the Detection of NOx (NO2 and NO) in the exhaust system of a road vehicle. The measurement is based on an a free path interaction zone which is interrogated using UV light guiding optical fibres and collimated lenses. Results are presented of the absorption spectra of the gases in the UV region and these demonstrate that using this method it is feasible to identify the individual NO and NO2 species as well as other gases in the exhaust system. Measurement of concentrations to the level of 10s parts per million (ppm) have been demonstrated.

A fluorescence-based temperature sensor system using a digital signal processing approach has been developed and evaluated in operation on a working automotive engine. The signal processing approach, using the least-squares method, makes the system relatively insensitive to intensity variations in the probe and thus provides more precise measurements when compared to a previous system designed using analogue phase-locked detection. Experiments carried out to determine the emission temperatures of a running car engine have demonstrated the effectiveness of the sensor system in monitoring exhaust temperatures up to 250 °C, and potentially higher.

This paper describes an optical fibre sensor for the Detection of NOx (NO2 and NO) in the exhaust system of a road vehicle. The measurement is based on an a free path interaction zone which is interrogated using UV light guiding optical fibres and collimated lenses. Results are presented of the absorption spectra of the gases in the UV region and these demonstrate that using this method it is feasible to identify the individual NO and NO2 species as well as other gases in the exhaust system. Measurement of concentrations to the level of 10s parts per million (ppm) have been demonstrated.

The DEXA Cluster consisted of three closely interlinked projects. In 2003 the DEXA Cluster concluded by demonstrating the successful development of critical technologies for Diesel exhaust particulate after-treatment, without adverse effects on NO x emissions and maintaining the fuel economy advantages of the Diesel engine well beyond the EURO IV (2000) emission standards horizon. In the present paper the most important results of the DEXA Cluster projects in the demonstration of advanced particulate control technologies, the development of a simulation toolkit for the design of diesel exhaust after-treatment systems and the development of novel particulate characterization methodologies, are presented. The motivation for the DEXA Cluster research was to increase the market competitiveness of diesel engine powertrains for passenger cars worldwide, and to accelerate the adoption of particulate control technology.