Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Non-thermal plasma discharge based NO{sub x} removal system for diesel engine exhaust

Conference ·
OSTI ID:351073
;  [1];  [2]; ; ;  [3];  [4]
  1. Armament Directorate, Eglin AFB, FL (United States). Wright Lab.
  2. Environics Directorate, Tyndall AFB, FL (United States). Armstrong Lab.
  3. Science Application International Corp., Shalimar, FL (United States)
  4. ARA, Tyndall AFB, FL (United States)
Emission regulations are becoming increasingly stringent on Aerospace Ground Equipment (AGE) at several Air Force bases. The problems are particularly acute for Air Force bases in California, such as March, Vandenberg, and McClellan. The most pressing regulatory problem is the emissions of nitrogen oxides from the A/M32A-86 (-86) diesel-powered generator. In response to this problem, the Air Force started the Green AGE program for advanced technology demonstrations. As part of the Green AGE program, the Armstrong Laboratory, Environics Directorate at Tyndall AFB and the Wright Laboratory, Armament Directorate at Eglin AFB were selected to jointly demonstrate that a Non-Thermal Plasma Discharge (NTPD) based system could remove the NO{sub x} from the -86 exhaust. A -86 generator was installed at Site A-15 of Eglin AFB, and a portion of the exhaust diverted to flow through a complete NTPD system. The system is comprised of a particle filter, reactor tube, and conventional wet scrubber. The particle filter removes particulates. The reactor tube oxidizes the nitric oxide into nitrogen dioxide and acid compounds, which can be removed by a conventional wet scrubber. Many experiments were performed to optimize the system. It was found that the injection of ethanol upstream of the reactor tube drastically reduced the energy required for nitric oxide oxidation. In addition, using Teflon PFA dielectrics was found to be superior to glass. In this paper, the applicable regulations are summarized; and estimates on the size, weight, and cost of a fieldable system are presented. In addition, the design, construction, and testing of each component from the demonstration program is described and results from the many optimization experiments are reported.
OSTI ID:
351073
Report Number(s):
CONF-970677--
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English