Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Tribotex Carboss
Pasha Pavlo Rudenko works in his garage laboratory in Colfax Tuesday, March 7.
It's game on for a Colfax man with a new product to aid old cars in longer use.
Pasha Pavlo Rudenko, who earned a doctorate degree from WSU in materials science in 2014, started his company Tribotex in 2010.
Its product is Carboss, a self-forming carbon coating which aims to reduce metal wear in engines.
The idea came out of research Rudenko did as a graduate student at WSU.
“We found something that would be wrong not to commercialize,” he said. “It can make a big difference in the world.”
The product is a syringe with a red liquid containing nano-materials which promise to reduce friction, repair damage and reverse engine wear.
“We’ve designed Tribotex as a clean energy solution to help fight pollution while saving money on machinery repairs and replacement. Our technology is applicable to industrial equipment such as wind turbines as well as to the consumer market,” Rudenko said.
The main market for the product is owners of older cars.
“Older cars respond better,” Rudenko said. “Generally every car after 100,000 miles will respond very well.”
Carboss was first made available online last year at carbosscoatings.com.
Last month, Rudenko launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking pre-orders to help determine the next round of manufacturing – which takes place now in Rudenko's Colfax garage.
“It's much easier to do production if you know how many units you need to produce by what day,” he said.
The campaign opened Feb. 6 and will end March 16.
As of March 7, 1,254 people had placed pre-orders of one or more items. The 20mL syringe-encased product sells for $99.
“We want to get our product in the hands of users,” Rudenko said.
He has lived in Colfax since 2008, after arriving from Ukraine to study at WSU.
Rudenko began his higher education in Ukraine at Kharazan University.
Ultimately, his studies led to his business venture, for which Tribotex received a $733,000 grant in 2015 from the National Science Foundation's small business program.
“The innovation is based on adding synthetic anisotropic nanoparticles to lubricating oils to create a self-forming thick protective coating for engine’s internal components,” Rudenko explained. “The nanoparticles are flat and have two functionally different sides: sticky to attach to the surface and reinforce it, and slippery to reduce friction. Their application results in 10 times reduction in friction, increased fuel efficiency, horsepower, lower maintenance costs, reduced engine noise and ultimately – increases the vehicle’s lifespan.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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