MALVERN, PA – Johnson Matthey's Environmental Catalysts and Technologies (ECT) group announces that the California Air Resource Board (CARB) has verified its CRT (continuously regenerating technology) diesel particulate filter system for use with biodiesel fuel. The CRT filter is the first and only emissions-reduction device verified for use with up to a 20 percent biodiesel blend (B20) with ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD). Biodiesel is an alternative, cleaner-burning fuel made from domestic, renewable resources, most often derived from vegetable oils such as soybean oil. Biodiesel blends can be substituted in diesel engines with little or no modifications. A B20 biodiesel blend reduces particulate matter (PM) – a criteria pollutant linked directly to significant health and environmental impact – by approximately 14 percent. Used with a CRT filter, PM can be reduced by more than 95 percent. The CRT technology also reduces carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions by more than 95 percent. These reductions meet CARB’s highest PM retrofit criteria, qualifying it as a Level 3 reduction device. This CRT filter verification also gives fleet mangers more flexibility to comply with programs like the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) designed to lower the United States’ petroleum dependence while meeting additional emission reduction goals. A 2004 survey of fleet managers by the National Biodiesel Board concluded that 91 percent of fleets are in favor of using biodiesel, and 45 percent are currently using some blend of biodiesel, B20 being the fuel of choice.