Development of a Catalyst for Selective Reduction of NOx and Oxidation of CO and Hydrocarbons

DOD's plan to make all U.S. military equipment run on a single fuel, logistics fuel, has obvious logistics advantages, but will require replacement of spark ignition engines with diesel engines or gas turbines. Both diesel engines and gas turbines are systems which must be operated fuel lean. Consequently, the three way catalyst system used in automobiles can not be used to control their emissions and a different method of pollution control must be sought. In this proposal, the options for controlling the pollutants emitted by diesel engines and gas turbines are reviewed. While there are a number of satisfactory alternatives for control of CO and unburned hydrocarbons, no satisfactory method of NOx control is available. Research is currently underway to develop a new type of catalyst which uses low temperature hydrocarbon oxidation to selectively reduce NOx, but the low temperatures at which these catalysts must operate make it unlikely that they will provide a satisfactory solution to DOD's problem. Thus, a new approach to the problem is needed. This proposal suggests such a new approach, describes why this new approach might reasonably be expected to succeed, and describes an experimental program to provide proof of concept for this new approach.