9561467 Cha This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate the technical and economic feasibility of a novel approach for dramatically reducing the costs of removing various pollutants from the exhaust of stationary diesel engines. The proposed process specifically addresses those engines that drive electrical generators producing electrical power of 50 kW or more. Targeted pollutants include nitric oxides (NOx), hydrocarbons (HCs), carbon monoxide (CO), and soot (also known as dry particulate material, or DPM). The proposed approach entails injecting a very small amount of hexane into the diesel exhaust at the exit of the engine manifold. The altered mixture of gases then passes through a triple-layered, catalyst-impregnated filter that is subjected to low-level microwave energy. The first layer of the filter captures the DPM which oxidizes rapidly in the presence of microwave energy. The second layer_impregnated with copper (Cu) and gadolinium (Gd) catalysts_promotes the reduction of NOx in the presence of hexane and other hydrocarbons in an oxygen-rich atmosphere. The third layer utilizes an oxidizing catalyst to promote the complete conversion of CO and HCs, including any surviving hexane, to CO2. In addition to driving the oxidation of captured DPM in the first layer of the filter, subjecting the filter to low-level microwave energy enhances the catalytic reactions in the second and third layers of the filter to achieve very high conversions of NOx, HCs, and CO. Successful completion of Phase I could potentially yield a process that would cost effectively remove ninety percent (90%) of the NOx and all of the DPM, CO, and HC found in the exhaust of 50+ kW diesel engines used in stationary power applications.
