August 31, 2007

Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology

 

Brockton Native Brings Emissions Device Home

 

 

Brokton Native Brings Emissions Device Home.

 

An entrepreneur from Brockton who is now living in Texas has developed a new way to help environmentally conscious drivers pimp their ride -- and he's brought it home for its national launch.

Born and raised in the City of Champions, William O'Brien and his Texas-based company, Sabertec LLC, have chosen two local garages -- one in Somerville and one in Brockton -- to be the first in the country to offer the Blade, a tailpipe attachment designed to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency in gasoline-powered vehicles.

The device went on sale last week, and while Skip Hansen, the manager of Ideal Automotive Inc. in Somerville, reports about 21 installations of the device this past week, he expects more to come.

"Once the word gets out, I think we're going to get a lot of requests," he said.

The technology behind the device hails from Brazil, where it was developed by an engineer named Sérgio Sangiovani and aimed at controlling the sulphur emissions created from the poor grade diesel fuel in South America. O'Brien came across the technology as a venture capitalist with Texas-based Saber Capital LLC, which he co-founded in 2000. Rather than invest with Sangiovani, he bought the patent and established Sabertec in Texas, which augmented the technology for gasoline engines.

The device itself attaches to any automobile's tailpipe and acts as a filter for particulate matter, as well as gaseous emissions. According to tests conducted by independent testing lab Automotive Testing and Development Services Inc. in California, the Blade eliminated 35 percent of the total hydrocarbons in the test vehicle, a 2004 Honda Civic with approximately 45,000 miles on it.

That includes 30 percent of the methane gas, 13 percent of the nitrogen oxide and 2 percent of carbon monoxide, according to the test results.

But while it is designed to reduce emissions, the testing also revealed an added benefit.

"It was actually a bit of a surprise to find out that it also significantly improves gas mileage," said O'Brien.