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Much work has been done on the application of plasmas to the treatment of NOx from power plants. In power plant applications, the purpose of the plasma is to oxidize NO to NO2, and eventually to nitric acid. The desired products, in the form of ammonium salts, are then obtained by mixing ammonia with the formed acids. Some form of scrubbing is required to collect the final products. For applications to the treatment of exhausts from cars and trucks, it is very important to make a distinction between NO removal by chemical oxidation and NO removal by chemical reduction. To avoid the need for scrubbing of plasma processing products, the desired method of NO removal is by chemical reduction; i.e. the conversion of NO to benign gaseous products like N2. This paper will discuss the results of an extensive series of experiments aimed towards understanding the effect of gas composition on the NOx conversion chemistry in a plasma.

The Office of Heavy Vehicle Technologies supports research to enable high-efficiency diesel engines to meet future emissions regulations, thus clearing the way for their use in light trucks as well as continuing as the most efficient powerplant for freight-haulers. Compliance with Tier 2 rules and expected heavy duty engine standards will require effective exhaust emission controls (aftertreatment) for diesels in these applications. DOE laboratories are working with industry to improve emission control technologies in projects ranging from application of new diagnostics for elucidating key mechanisms, to development and tests of prototype devices. This paper provides an overview of these R&D efforts, with examples of key findings and developments.