This is an award to support research on the use of a beam of high energy electons to reduce the emission of pollutants in gases emitted from combustion processes. The objective of this project is to provide a sufficiently comprehensive demonstration of the concept's technical feasibility to determine its economic viability and commercial potential. Tasks include design, fabrication and operation of an experimental system to process simulated exhaust gases; experiments to characterize reduction in pollutant concentrations as a function of dose and to identify products produced during application of the process; performance of theoretical analyses to establish models for application of the concept to engineering design; and development of a conceptual design for a full-scale processing system capable of operating at a gas flow-rate of 5,000 liters per second. The proposal leading to this recommendation results from completion of a Phase I, Small Business Innovation Research project conducted under NSF Grant No. 90-61169 in which the scientific feasibility of this concept was demonstrated. This Phase II award was made in accord with procedures contained in Program Solicitation NSF 90-31, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR).
