A fuel catalyst, developed years ago by a family with strong Texan oil interests, has now also become available in South Africa.

The Rentar catalyst promises fuel savings of up to 6% for long-haul trucks, more for furnaces, boilers and generators, as well as a roughly 8% cut in carbon dioxide emissions for diesel-powered machines.

RedZebra Energy has the licence to distribute the catalyst, developed by the Ratner family, in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, says CE Errol Finkelstein.

Finkelstein is a former GM with South African Breweries.

“To substantiate our claims to South African customers, we ran a number of local pilot studies in both on-road and off-road applications, convincing originally skeptical local operators to give it a go,” he notes.

“With the assistance of both Lafarge and Western Logistix, as well as that of independent environmental consultants to monitor the outcome, the results speak for themselves.”

Western Logistix executive director Ferdi Krumm substantiates the Rentar catalyst’s fuel saving claims.

“We installed a Rentar fuel catalyst – the Rentar HBEN 2012 – onto our Freightliner Argosy, with a Detroit 550 engine, in February. The vehicles run eight trips per month, with fairly constant liquid loads from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. Since April we have experienced a steady 6% reduction in diesel consumption, with commensurate cost reduction that would pay for the catalyst within about seven months.” 

In rand terms this means a R7 000 a month cost saving, or R84 000 a year.

The Rentar catalyst, however, has not yet been certified for use on Euro III, IV or V diesel engines.

“Such tests are currently in the process of preparation,” says Finkelstein.    
 
The Rentar fuel catalyst has 27 patents. 

It takes 150 to 250 hours to realise the maximum benefit, depending on engine size.     

Finkelstein says the older, less efficient the engine is, the better the results.   

He says the catalyst is suitable for use in all diesel- and oil-based heavy fuel applications, such as front-end loaders, dump trucks, construction vehicles, locomotives, buses, trains, generators, boats, boilers and furnaces.

“Some notable users abroad are Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra, Gulf Orient Seaways and Allied Nippon. The list in the US includes the state of Delaware, the City of New York, Exxon Mobil’s Monterey Mines, Toyota Motor Car Carriers and CEMEX Materials.”

The fuel catalyst has no moving parts, requires no maintenance, has no electrical hookups, is not an additive, is not a magnet, carries a ten-year manufacturer’s product warranty, does not directly effect engine warranties and is generally easy to install, adds Finkelstein.

“The manufacturer also offers a three-year warranty against consequential engine damage, a warranty which has never been claimed against - according to the manufacturer.”

Finkelstein says RedZebra has a network in place to support the Rentar catalyst throughout South Africa, Zimbabwe, Madagascar and the other regions of the continent.