Colorado State Programs & People

Envirofit Tackles Global Air Pollution

Published June 2008

Saving the world from pollution by reducing global CO2 emissions is no small chore, but it’s exactly the challenge that Envirofit is tackling.

The widespread use of inefficient two-stroke engines has led to severe air pollution problems in many developing countries.

The widespread use of inefficient two-stroke engines has led to severe air pollution problems in many developing countries.

In fact, a visit to the EnviroFit Web site reveals an ambitious mission statement to “develop and disseminate technologies that reduce pollution or enhance energy efficiency in developing countries, thereby enhancing the environment and public health, fostering economic growth and alleviating poverty.”

Because more than half of the world’s population lives in Asia, the air pollution produced in that part of the world is a major problem - although the problem extends to the rest of the world as well. The pollutants, known as the Asian Brown Cloud, can travel halfway around the world in one week, impacting health, agriculture and climate. The World Health Organization suggests that as many as 15,000 people die each day from air pollution, impacting world health even more than the major health hazards of smoking, AIDS and cancer.

With a focus on curbing air pollution at its source, EnviroFit is working to reduce emissions from the small two-stroke engines commonly used on motorcycles in Asia and Africa, where there are more than 50 million of these vehicles. Many of these are used as tricycle taxis; the taxi is a motorcycle with a custom sidecar bolted to it for carrying passengers. Each taxi produces the pollution equivalent of about 50 modern automobiles, resulting in chronic air pollution.

EnviroFit’s answer to the two-stroke engine pollution problem is to retrofit the engines with a conversion kit that uses direct fuel injection, resulting in a cleaner-burning two-stroke engine.

More about EnviroFit

This story is an excerpt from a feature article by Kathy Hatfield originally published in the 2006-2007 CSU Research Calendar. The calendar included highlights of people and programs at Colorado State University that seek to address global challenges faced by society today. A complete list of stories featured in the calendar is available on vpr.colostate.edu/pages/calendar.asp.

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