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Click on video screen above to see our 4-minute introductory video on YouTube About Industrial Ceramic Solutions And Our Unique Patented FiltersIndustrial Ceramic Solutions (ICS) was founded in 1997 to develop commercial applications for its unique patented ceramic fiber filter. Independent laboratories have verified that ICS’s filter cartridge achieves greater than 95 percent particle filtration efficiency for diesel exhaust and restaurant grease emissions, with a low backpressure, which exceeds many other commercial technologies. Emissions from diesel and industrial exhausts have been determined to be hazardous to human health, especially due to its smog forming components and potentially carcinogenic airborne organic particles. The U.S. EPA, under the Clean Air Act, drafted particulate emission reduction regulations for the diesel industry. Similar regulations were passed in Europe and Japan, and more recently many other countries. Compliance with the emission reduction rules requires the installation of a diesel particulate filter (DPF) in the exhaust stream capable of removing at least 90 percent of diesel soot particles. Two major manufacturers in the U.S. and Japan elected to solve the difficult task of filtering high-temperature, corrosive gas streams by adapting a 30-year-old extruded honeycomb catalytic converter ceramic technology. ICS’s ceramic fiber filter technology has significant performance and price advantages over this existing method, and is currently available for licensing to U.S. automotive parts manufacturers. Also, as noted on our home page, there are many other available applications of this technology. ICS Company Background In 1989, ICS founder Dick Nixdorf was working on a project for General Motors to reinforce the face of aluminum pistons with his patented silicon carbide ceramic fiber. In an attempt to dry the fibers in a microwave oven, he discovered a remarkable phenomenon. The fibers heated to almost 2,000 degrees F (“white heat”) in 9 seconds in the microwave field. This was a phenomenal conversion of microwave energy to thermal energy. (Continued in next column at right) For more information, please contact us at 865-482-7552 or use our online contact form. |
ICS Company Background, Cont. Mr. Nixdorf then began working with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s “High Temperature Materials Laboratory” (HTML), where he discovered that several leading manufacturers were struggling with materials to comply with the pending EPA regulations for diesel exhaust particulate control. Their extruded ceramic honeycomb catalytic converter prototype filters were cracking and melting during high-temperature testing. It became obvious that a filter made of the new ICS ceramic fibers would be more resilient to thermal stresses and also could be easily cleaned with microwave heating. Since then, extensive product development has taken place to convert the ICS ceramic filtration media into a commercially viable filtration product. The U. S. Department of Energy and the US EPA have invested more than $2 million in this effort. Mr. Nixdorf has been involved in the development of advanced ceramic materials and products for 30 years, taking over 30 new advanced materials ideas to commercial production. He previously served as President & CEO of CerWat Corporation and ReMaxCo Technologies. He began his career in materials research at the Oak Ridge Nuclear Facilities and continues to use the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s “High Temperature Materials Laboratory” for materials evaluations. Mr. Nixdorf is named as the inventor on 10 U.S. Patents. He received a BS degree in Material Science from Vanderbilt University and did graduate work at the University of Tennessee. Use our online contact form or call 865-482-7552. |