Ensuring HGVs run clean in the busy festive season

December is the busiest trading month for the majority of retailers, while the last two months of the year account for a fifth of annual retail sales worth around £80bn, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  Data from the ONS also shows that over 30% of sales now take place online.  Alongside consumer demand, the festive season places a spike in demand on the supply chain – and for logistics providers and their HGV fleets in particular.

In terms of volume, the most recent Department for Transport statistics reveal that GB-registered HGVs operating in the UK carried 1.27bn tonnes of goods (goods lifted) in 2020, covering a distance of 16.2bn kilometres during the same period.

As truck movements increase in the runup to Christmas, it is essential to maximise uptime to meet demand and ensure they are running efficiently to minimise operating costs and ensure compliance with Euro VI emissions regulations.  With over 400,000 HGVs on the UK’s roads, plus thousands of overseas registered trucks, it is important to keep their emissions control systems running as cleanly as possible.  This includes regular cleaning and remanufacturing of the vehicle’s diesel particulate filter (DPF) to ensure harmful contaminants are prevented from entering the atmosphere.

Ceramex, the leading provider of patented DPF cleaning, remanufacturing and inspection services, supports logistics providers in this crucial trading period with state of the art DPF cleaning and remanufacturing.  Processing over 2,500 DPF units per week from its 67,000 square-foot facility in Reading, Ceramex provides HGV fleets with an exchange-based service, where batches of dirty DPFs are collected from customers in the UK and the EU and replaced with remanufactured ‘truck ready’ units on a scheduled basis.  This fast turnaround contract-based approach minimises downtime and provides responsible transport operators with value through economies of scale and the knowledge they are keeping their fleets running as clean as possible.

Ceramex’s patented Xpurge^® cleaning process, which uses an innovative combination of de-ionised water and compressed air, removes accumulated soot and ash deposits within the DPF.  This is a fully automated process that provides rapid processing and excellent first pass cleaning results.  The contaminant deposits are suspended in water during cleaning to ensure there is no risk of them entering the atmosphere.  Xpurge^® removes between 350-450g of soot and ash from each filter, which is around 30% more effective than other cleaning systems in the market that use compressed air or other water-based methods.

The cleaning process returns the DPF to a minimum 95% of its original functionality, avoiding the need for customers to source an expensive replacement unit.  The soot and ash deposits are collected to form a ‘filter cake’ of particulate matter, equal to 30 tonnes per year.  This is transported to a waste management partner for further treatment before disposal as non-hazardous waste at a licensed landfill site.

After cleaning, the DPF is machine dried and then quality checked with Ceramex’s patented Veritex^® automated inspection technology.  Veritex^® uses light transmission to verify a DPF’s internal condition.  This technology provides an image of the internal structure of the filter, identifying any blockages, exotherm damage and cracks.  This ensures a faulty unit is not reinstalled onto a vehicle which could cause costly damage to the exhaust system.  Veritex^® also gives visual confirmation that the filter has been cleaned properly and generates a unique record of the DPF’s condition every time it is cleaned, enabling filters to be monitored throughout their service life.

Regardless of the season, Ceramex DPF cleaning provides HGV operators with a cost-effective and more sustainable solution to keeping their vehicles environmentally compliant and operating efficiently.  To find out more, please contact us.