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Incineration is a promising method for converting biomass and human waste into CO2 and H2O during extended planetary exploration. During incineration, however, small amounts of NOx and SO2 are produced and must be removed. TDA Research, Inc. (TDA) has developed a safe and effective process to remove NOx and SO2 from waste incinerator product gas streams. In our process, NO is oxidized into NO2 with high selectivity. The NO2 is then removed by wet scrubbing with a weak base to form an innocuous water solution of nitrates and nitrites. SO2 will be removed by a packed bed containing a basic sorbent developed at TDA. As part of an SBIR Phase II project, TDA is to design and construct a pilot-scale effluent cleaning system to be coupled with an existing waste incinerator at NASA Ames Research Center. The effluent from this incinerator may contain fly ash, SO2, unburned hydrocarbons, CO, and NOx.

Incineration is a promising method for converting biomass and human waste into CO2 and H2O during extended planetary exploration. During incineration, small amounts NOX and SO2 are produced and must be removed. TDA has developed a NOX control process that is safe and effective and does not require addition of NH3, which is commonly used in selective catalytic reduction of NOx. In our process, NO is catalytically oxidized to NO2 which is then removed by wet scrubbing with a weak base to form an innocuous water solution of nitrates and nitrites. We plan to integrate our catalytic NO oxidation process into a complete gas cleaning system that will remove NOX, SO2, particulate material, CO and unburned organic compounds.

Incineration is a promising method for converting biomass and human waste into CO2 and H2O during extended planetary exploration. However, incineration produces small amounts of NOX and SO2 in the effluent, which must be removed. TDA Research has developed a safe and effective process to remove NOX and SO2 from waste incinerator product gas streams. In our process, NO is catalytically oxidized to NO2, using a low temperature oxidation catalyst developed at TDA. Wet scrubbers then remove the NO2, with most of the NO2 converted into an aqueous solution that can be used as a plant nutrient. A packed bed containing a basic sorbent, also developed at TDA, removes SO2 from the effluent. As part of an SBIR Phase II project, TDA designed and constructed a pilot scale effluent cleaning system, which will be used with the incinerator at NASA Ames Research Center.

The objective of this SBIR Phase I project was to identify catalysts that are active for ammonia conversion and are also selective for nitrogen and water. Our approach to the problem was centered on the development of a bifunctional catalyst, which could separate adsorbed oxygen and nitrogen atoms, thereby reducing NOx formation. The results of our project demonstrated that our approach was successful. We prepared a group of catalysts and tested them for ammonia oxidation activity. We identified a catalyst formulation that was active for ammonia oxidation at low temperatures in the presence of water and produced very little NOx. We used kinetic data to generate a rate model that predicts 100% ammonia conversion in the full-scale system at a temperature 50°C lower than the current design.