Ultra-Low Levels of Platinum Emissions from Clean Diesel Technologies Fuel-Borne Catalyst

STAMFORD, Conn.--Nov. 2, 20051, 2005--Clean Diesel Technologies Inc. (Clean Diesel) (OTCBB:CDTI) (AIM:CDT) (AIM:CDTS), a developer of chemical and technological solutions to reduce harmful engine emissions, announced today that independent tests have demonstrated that the platinum emissions from the company's Platinum Plus(R) fuel-borne catalyst (FBC) do not pose an allergenic risk.

The engine tests used to generate samples for analysis were performed at the well-respected Southwest Research Institute (San Antonio) on a typical heavy duty truck engine that had been operated for 1,000 hours at high fuel rates and elevated doses of FBC. Independent analysis of the engine emissions was done by researchers at the University of Wisconsin, who analyzed for the trace fraction of platinum where potentially allergenic forms might be found. This work has confirmed that any potential allergenic species of platinum emitted, if present at all, would be hundreds to many thousands of times below the most conservative published reference safe exposure levels. The emissions are also consistent with reported platinum emissions from existing heavily catalyzed devices such as auto catalysts and catalyzed diesel emission control systems typically used in vehicles on the road today.

The testing was previously announced by CDT in January 2005 and done at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency based on the substantial growth in interest and use of the Platinum Plus FBC product to control emissions and improve fuel economy in diesel engines. The state-of-the-art testing techniques showed most of the platinum emission was in a form consistent with it being platinum metal and oxide, which are generally regarded as non-allergenic. The remainder, less than 1 percent of the platinum emitted, could be water dissolvable with some anionic character, as determined by ion exchange separations, which is the portion where any potentially allergenic forms would be found.

"These tests again demonstrate that our EPA-verified systems, which represent an extremely low cost and effective retrofit option, take important steps toward improving the quality of our environment," said Clean Diesel President and Chief Operating Officer James Valentine. "While we were confident the results would be positive, we did the additional testing to alleviate any concerns about the traces of platinum that are emitted as a byproduct of our platinum-based emission control systems. We look forward to sharing these test results and the unique benefits of our products with state and federal regulators and anyone else interested in environmental quality."

The engine used in the testing had seen FBC equivalent to that resulting from 100,000 gallons of normally dosed fuel; which represents fuel consumption for about 25 years of service on a local delivery vehicle and 50 years of operation on a school bus.

The University of Wisconsin analysis was conducted on emissions from a heavy duty diesel engine, emitting over 100,000 ug/hp-hr of toxic diesel particulates (PM). The FBC and ultra-low sulfur fuel reduced PM by over 20,000 ug/hp-hr while emitting less than 0.3 ug/hp-hr of water soluble and potentially anionic platinum fraction. Used in conjunction with a lightly catalyzed diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) or catalyzed wire mesh filter (CWMF) the Platinum Plus FBC is verified to reduce toxic PM by 40-75 percent, equivalent to a reduction of 45,000-75,000 ug/hp-hr of toxic soot emissions. Tests with a diesel particulate filter and FBC-treated fuel showed over 95 percent reduction in particulates with 99 percent of the platinum retained in the engine, exhaust and filter.

Data were submitted to the EPA on a regular basis during the eight-month program and a final report was submitted to the EPA in early October 2005. Researchers from the University of Wisconsin and CDT have submitted a paper on the results of the program for presentation at the SAE World Congress in 2006.

CDT also studied reports from the literature that indicated up to 25 percent of the platinum in heavily catalyzed devices like auto catalysts and diesel oxidation catalysts can be emitted, of which 1-10 percent was generally reported as soluble. CDT concluded that the platinum emissions rates and species appear to be similar for the FBC and current catalyzed systems in widespread use. When the FBC is used with a DPF, platinum emissions are less than the reported platinum emissions from auto catalysts.

Commenting on the results, Dr. Walter Copan, vice president and chief technology officer for CDT, said: "Clean Diesel Technologies shares with the EPA the commitment to protecting human health and the environment. We are confident of the significant benefits to both health and environment from the use of Clean Diesel's FBC-based emission control systems, and are pleased to have this further independent confirmation of the ultra-low risk this strategy represents. The work done at Southwest Research Institute and the University of Wisconsin has moved forward scientific understanding for the benefit of regulatory authorities and industry alike. This recent work conducted with the guidance of the EPA is consistent with earlier studies which generally reported less than 2 percent of the platinum to have been in a water soluble form. The use of the Clean Diesel FBC has demonstrated diesel fuel efficiency improvements, hence reducing both greenhouse gas and toxic emissions - while lowering fuel-related costs for fleet operations. In addition, when the FBC is used with lightly catalyzed aftertreatment systems or filters, there is little or no increase in NO2 emissions, in contrast with the substantial increases in NO2 measured when using certain heavily catalyzed systems. NO2 is a strong lung irritant, whose ground level concentrations can be increased significantly by such heavily catalyzed devices. FBC-based systems allow much lower levels of precious metal to be used on devices and are projected to reduce lifetime platinum use by over 50 percent versus heavily catalyzed medium duty aftertreatment systems. The use of this FBC provides new strategies to conserve platinum as a precious natural resource, now that this material has become widely used in emission control applications."

Dr. Copan added that an industry-accepted "urban canyon" model has been applied to predict severe cases where engine emissions are known to impact local air quality. The model predicts the effect of 2,400 vehicles per hour in a city street surrounded by tall buildings. If one out of every four of those vehicles would use the FBC, the most severe model scenarios predict the ambient concentrations of water soluble platinum emitted from the FBC at normal dose rates to be 900-10,000 times below the lowest-known reference standard for safe exposure, and 180,000-2 million times below OSHA workplace exposure levels for soluble platinum. The use of Platinum Plus is predicted to dramatically improve the particulate matter and other engine emissions profiles, hence reducing risk factors for cancers and respiratory illnesses.

Valentine noted that CDT stands behind the benefits, performance and safety of the Platinum Plus product and this work confirms that any potential risks associated with using the Platinum Plus FBC are extremely low and consistent with that reported in the literature for other platinum-based emission control technologies.

About Clean Diesel Technologies Inc.

Clean Diesel Technologies Inc. and its U.K. representative office, Clean Diesel International LLC, is a developer of chemical and technological solutions to reduce harmful engine emissions. Clean Diesel Technologies has patented products that reduce emissions from combustion engines while simultaneously improving fuel economy and power. Products include Platinum Plus(R) fuel-borne catalysts (FBC), the Platinum Plus Purifier System and the ARIS(R) 2000 urea-injection systems for selective catalytic reduction of NOx. Platinum Plus and ARIS are registered trademarks of Clean Diesel Technologies Inc. For more information, visit CDT at www.cdti.com or contact the company directly.