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Air cleaners are used in a wide range of automotive applications. From passenger cars to heavy duty trucks, there is always an air cleaner to keep inlet air free of impurities and air flow passage obstruction in low levels. Today's automotive air intake systems are developed to deliver maximum filtration efficiency, maximum dust holding capacity and maximum service interval range based on engine performance and reliability requirements [1]. In Brazil, some applications require outstanding performance for the air cleaners. One of them is at harvester application. In this case, vehicles are exposed to thin soil particles in high quantities due to harvester movement at plantation work. At the same time, engine performance needs to be kept during long journeys. According to this limitation, re-fuelling and components replacements are done direct at field. Any vehicle stop means lower productivity and more costs.

Reducing evaporation emission is one of the most important targets during vehicle development nowadays. Apart from the emissions while the vehicle is in operation, evaporation emissions occur after the engine is turned off. Up to 30 % of these emissions can originate from the Air Intake System (AIS). Today, Hydro Carbon Adsorbers (HCA) are already used as a part of the AIS to reduce evaporation emissions [1], [2]. Usually the HCA contains activated carbon or zeolite. HC emissions are adsorbed by the HCA during and after the engine shut down. When the engine is running, the HCA is purged with the intake air. The HC storage principle is well known for carbon canisters [3]. HCAs were initially designed for existing AIS. So far, the pressure drop of the system was considered to be the most important design parameter while designing the AIS. Due to government regulations, more advanced requirements are established and hence sophistication in design is needed to meet new targets.