Tuesday, 5th June 2007 (4066 views)

A new kind of gold-demand could come about if gold-containing catalysts are included in diesel engine pollution controls, it has been claimed.

Mineweb reports that Dr Richard Holliday of the World Gold Council believes that current annual demand for platinum group metals in car catalysts totalling more than 250 tonnes a year is an "excellent opportunity" to create a new gold demand sector.

Dr Holliday told Mineweb that the cost-saving possibilities offered by the gold-catalyst would act as an incentive for car manufacturers to switch technology.

Nanostellar introduced gold as an oxidation catalyst in diesel emissions technology earlier this year, Nanostellar noting that its NS Gold catalyst can help manufacturers of diesel engines to reduce emissions 40 per cent more than existing catalysts.

"Not only does NS Gold break performance barriers imposed by mixed platinum and palladium catalysts, but also its performance can be more easily tuned to the characteristics of a variety of diesel engines," Pankaj Dhingra, chief executive officer of Nanostellar said in April.

 

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