BASF technology cleans up Hong Kong buses

Hong Kong, one of the world’s most populous cities, had a growing air pollution problem. With increasing frequency, Hong Kong's air pollution index was "high" or worse, indicating that dangerous levels of smog and fine particles are in the air.

This was largely because the many diesel engines used in the city generate much higher levels of fine particulates in the air than in many places.  Diesel particulates have been linked to a variety of respiratory and lung diseases, including cancer.

While the Hong Kong government began looking for ways to reduce diesel pollution, the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (KMB), Hong Kong's largest operator of public buses, decided to take action on its own.  They chose BASF to help in the effort.

KMB undertook to retrofit one third of their vehicles with BASF's catalytic converter mufflers, installing the technology on all 1,800 pre-1994 buses in their fleet.

"We are committed to contributing to Hong Kong's battle for cleaner air," said KMB Managing Director John Chan. "This retrofit initiative allows us to help clean the air, thereby making an important impact on the growth and development of our city."

Today the catalytic converter mufflers on KMB’s buses are preventing more than 3,000 metric tons of pollution from entering Hong Kong's air every year.