BROQUET - SUMMARY INFORMATION SHEET

This Information Sheet has been prepared to provide an overview of Broquet, its applications and benefits. Briefly, Broquet is a metallic catalyst that reacts with fuel resulting in an improved combustion process, reductions in carbon emissions and an improvement in fuel consumption ( typically 7 - 12% ). It is equally effective with petrol and diesel engines. It can be used on cars, trucks, buses, marine engines and static plant such as generating sets and oil-fired boilers. The catalyst is simply placed into the fuel tank or held in a cartridge that is connected into the fuel line. As well as providing a cleaner combustion process the catalyst will also have the effect of removing carbon and gum deposits in the combustion chamber and inhibiting the build up of further deposits; this means reduced engine maintenance. For cars and smaller engines a single installation would be expected to outlast the life of the engine. For trucks it is suggested that the catalyst pellets are replaced every 250,000 miles or every 6,500 operating hours in a marine environment. The initial cost of the unit is soon recovered in fuel savings. For a car these savings can amount to several hundred pounds over the life of the engine and several thousand pounds for a larger truck or marine engine. The photograph shows the basic catalyst pellets, the in-tank unit (on the right) and a selection of in-line units.

The technology has its origins in WW2 when it was first conceived as a means of improving the quality and stability of poor grade locally produced Russian fuel that was needed to power British Hurricane aircraft operating on the Russian front. The late Henry Broquet was a young RAF technician who was in a specialist RAF support unit that was sent out to Russia in 1941 with the first of around 3,000 Hurricanes that were sent from Britain. After the war Henry Broquet developed the technology where it was used primarily in large marine diesel engines as a maintenance tool to prevent the build up of carbon deposits and keep lubrication oil cleaner. The product re-emerged in the mid-eighties in the UK as an alternative method of "converting" engines that were designed for leaded petrol to run well and safely on unleaded fuel. In the decade that followed around 150,000 vehicles adopted this leaded/unleaded "conversion" and have collectively covered several billion miles running without problems on unleaded fuel. In today's market, where most cars are designed for unleaded fuel, the catalyst is seen as a way of reducing fuel costs and lowering carbon emissions. A significant market is its use in performance engines that prefer a high octane fuel as Broquet will enable them to run as well, without loss of performance, on a lower octane unleaded fuel.

The cost of a unit for a medium sized car is around £80, for a larger 4 x 4 vehicle the cost is around £100 - £125 (depending on vehicle type) and for a 400 bhp truck about £450. A medium size car doing 30 mpg could expect to save about £1000 in fuel costs over a 100,000 mile engine cycle. An HGV averaging 9 mpg could expect to save about £8,500 over a 250,000 mile engine cycle.

Note on environmental benefits:
We are conscious of not trying to jump on the "green bandwagon" Nonetheless there is no doubt that use of Broquet has a significant contribution to make to a cleaner environment and reduction of carbon emissions. Furthermore Broquet has enabled tens of thousands of petrol vehicles to switch from leaded to unleaded petrol. In modern vehicles fitted with catalytic converters it should be noted that Broquet works all the time whereas a catalytic converter will not be effective for some time until the exhaust is hot. In addition better combustion means an overall improvement in fuel consumption and a corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions. For diesel engines Broquet will significantly reduce smoke output including tiny particulate emissions that are especially damaging to health. The initial cost of the product will soon be recovered by resultant fuel savings.

Technical Notes.
We now have a clearer idea of how Broquet works although, like much of the science behind catalysis, research is ongoing. There is currently a British university group who are examining the effects of trace elements in fuel. The International Tin Research Institute, the world's leading authority on tin, continue with their research on the technology. In essence Broquet, which is a tin based compound, acts as heterogeneous catalyst (i.e. a solid acting in a liquid surround) whereby fuel molecules are absorbed onto the surface of the catalyst which, in turn, leads to enhanced breakdown of the molecular chains resulting in improved and more complete combustion. It should be noted that tin has long been used as a catalyst in coal liquefaction processes (the first patent was taken out in the1940s) and in petroleum production. Of course the use of additives in petroleum production is well known - a good example was the widespread use of tetraethyl lead.

In summary, the Broquet benefits include:

1. Reduction in fuel consumption
2. Reductions in exhaust emissions including CO2 (for both petrol and diesel engines)
3. Lower smoke on start-up, especially in marine engines and agricultural equipment
4. Increased engine power - Reduction of tendency to "pink" (detonation) in performance engines
5. Guaranteed conversion of leaded petrol engines to unleaded petrol
6. Cleaner combustion chambers and components - Less maintenance - More responsive engines

Applications include:
Motorcycles - Automobiles - Trucks - Buses - Boats and other craft such as Jet Skis - Generators - Oil-fired boilers - Agricultural vehicles and off-road plant

Marine & River Craft:
The in-tank version is really only suitable for smaller engines with fuel tank sizes of up to around 30 gallons max capacity (when 2 x 8-pellet units would be required). Otherwise an in-line unit should be installed directly into the fuel line and the size would be determined by the engine power rating. Many craft will be powered by relatively slow running diesel engines that tend to carbon up and can be quite smoky, especially on start-up. Broquet will greatly reduce this smoke output and gradually decarbonise the engine. Fuel economy will improve and this is even more relevant with the imminent loss of the red diesel tax concession.

More information is available at www.broquet.co.uk or by e-mailing david @ broquet.co.uk

Our UK telephone number is 01903 745441. Our fax number is 01903 741130

D Lock & Associates, "Amberley House", 19 Turners Mead, Storrington, West Sussex RH20 4JZ

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