Lead trap that replaces silencer
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• A lead trap has been developed by two Tube Investment companies, TI Silencer Services Ltd and Magnesium Elektron Ltd, in conjunction with Texaco Ltd and the Associated Octel Co Ltd, which is claimed to give a reduction of up to 70 per cent in lead emissions from petrol engines. Associated Octet manufactures anti-knock compounds.
The device will be tested by the DoE in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry as part of a programme of assessing means of controlling lead emissions to ascertain whether it is possible to reduce emission by external means as well as by limiting lead content to 0.45 grammes per litre.
Based on Texaco patents, the lead trap consists of a container packed with stainless-steel wool coated with alumina. Lead compounds are trapped by absorption and physical filtration in conjunction with chemical reaction with the alumina. Dimensions of the trap are comparable to those of a conventional silencer that it would replace in service, and it is claimed that its useful life is at least equal to that of a typical silencer — approximately 25,000 miles running.