Not like this...CHANGING engine oil is a messy business in more ways than one. Every year, despite the various recycling schemes available, Americans pour over 200m US gallons (750m litres) of used engine oil into trash cans, onto land or down the drain. Most of this ends up polluting rivers and streams. The job could become much faster, simpler and cleaner, though, with a new invention: a plug-in oil cartridge that takes around 90 seconds to replace.
Nexcel, as it is known, is a sealed unit that contains both oil and oil filter, along with some electronics to communicate with the host car’s engine-management system. An oil change begins by selecting the vehicle’s service mode, which tells the engine’s oil pump to transfer oil in the sump into the cartridge. That can then be unclipped and swapped for a new one which contains fresh oil and a clean filter.
The idea comes from Castrol, the lubricants division of BP, a large British oil company. Castrol says a Nexcel cartridge should cost about the same as a conventional oil change, but will be better in several ways. It will, for example, be able to monitor the...Continue reading
Source: Science and technology http://ift.tt/1NPeSqq
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