Today the California Air Resources Board (CARB) heard and unanimously passed staff’s recommendations on amendments to the Aftermarket Diesel Particulate Filter Approval Regulation (note Chair Nichols abstained from the vote citing she did not hear the entire staff presentation). It is important to understand this hearing and approval process only applies to aftermarket diesel particulate filters (DPFs) in California. These parts are currently being legally sold and successfully deployed in every other state in the country.
Today the California Air Resources Board (CARB) heard and unanimously passed staff’s recommendations on amendments to the Aftermarket Diesel Particulate Filter Approval Regulation (note Chair Nichols abstained from the vote citing she did not hear the entire staff presentation). It is important to understand this hearing and approval process only applies to aftermarket diesel particulate filters (DPFs) in California. These parts are currently being legally sold and successfully deployed in every other state in the country.
Manufacturers of aftermarket Diesel Particulate Filters (DPFs) will now have a path for approval, and ultimately a path to market to sell replacement DPFs for model year 2007 – 2009 engines that come with a DPF originally incorporated into the engine package. Currently the only option to replace a failed DPF from an ’07 – ’09 on highway engine in California is buying a replacement directly from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Does this mean aftermarket DPFs are now available in California? No. There are still a few administrative steps in the process before the regulation is officially adopted and once that is complete (we won’t even hazard a guess) the manufacturers still need to get their DPFs approved through the newly adopted procedures. So aftermarket DPFs still won’t be available in California for at least a few months.
What does this approval mean for fleets?
- Opportunity for Cost Savings: Once aftermarket DPFs gain approval and become commercially available, fleets will have a lower cost option to DPF replacement. In the presentation from this morning’s hearing (link here), CARB estimates the savings for aftermarket DPFs to be $1,200 per device.
- Approval process gives fleets protection: The approval process adopted today includes significant testing and warranty requirements likely above that of other aftermarket parts that should lead to the successful deployment of the replacement parts given the engine is in good working order.
- Recycling the failed DPF core becomes critical: When a fleet installs an aftermarket DPF, its going to be after a failure of the OEM DPF. If replacing with an OEM DPF, the spent core would typically go back to the manufacturer for a core credit. However, when replacing with an aftermarket DPF there is no core program, so the fleet or installer is left with a failed core that needs to be dealt with in a compliant manner – recycling the is the best option as it provides value and ensures the materials in the failed parts are returned to the supply chain.
Red Fox comes in at the recycling step … we’ll buy back your failed DPF core to recover the platinum group metals (PGM) and ensure your failed core is not resold (a violation) and that no hazardous waste gets sent to the landfill. DPF recycling through Red Fox becomes the critical last step in the process to installing an aftermarket DPF.
Per a letter sent from CARB to Red Fox Resources, recycling failed DPFs (retrofit or OE) is supported by CARB.
Frequently Asked Recycling Questions | How DPF Recycling Works | Get A Quote on DPF Recycling
For more information on our recycling buy back program and our process, you can explore our website and get in touch with us here.
