Tecfil, the largest manufacturer of automobile filters in Latin America, in partnership with Ahlstrom, a world leader in sustainable and innovative fiber solutions, has announced a world-first sustainable paper for automobile filters.
The product, developed by Ahlstrom at its technology center in Brazil, after years of research on replacing synthetic materials with recyclable and/or biodegradable materials, is being used by Tecfil, which actively participated in the validation tests on the paper in the filters.
“This innovation makes Tecfil the first company in the world to adopt a sustainable paper as a means of filtering, which provides enhanced performance. We expect to market a new line of filters with a superior performance, and to focus even more on sustainability and protecting the environment,” explains Wagner Vieira, Tecfil’s Commercial Director.
The technology will initially be employed in Tecfil’s oil filters, which are used in over 4,000 models of light and heavy vehicles and motorbikes, and later in air filters.
The material’s technological edge lies in its environmental appeal. Its Single Score –a European Union environmental-footprint indicator which evaluates a product’s general environmental impact–, is 16% lower and, notably, includes an 18% reduction in equivalent CO2 emissions, thanks to a reduction in raw material emissions and upstream transport.
André Pereira, Director of Sales at Ahlstrom, explains that the new paper has countless benefits for the environment. “The product responds to a global need to reduce pollutants, formaldehydes and CO2, and it has a positive impact in terms of the ozone layer, radiation, particle emission, toxic carcinogens, water usage, fossil fuel usage, among other aspects that affect climate change,” says André.
