CONTROLLING COMBUSTION-SOURCE EMISSIONS AT AIR FORCE SITES

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is the most common exhaust-gas-treatment process being used today to control NOx from stationary combustion units. However, SCR has some disadvantages. For example, SCR is very expensive to install and to operate; it employs catalysts that are easily blinded; it requires ammonia additions that sometime slip through the catalyst beds; it generally performs satisfactorily only at high temperatures. Recently, Sorbtech developed for the Air Force a simple, low-cost alternative to SCR for controlling NOx in exhaust gases produced in jet-engine test cells (JETCs). The development is a two-bed filter that demonstrates attractive removals of not only NOx, but also of CO, small (P-10) particles, SO2, HC1, and other contaminants. The new filter could have many Air Force and civilian applications, in addition to JETCs. The proposed project will explore three of these potential applications (natural-gas boilers, diesel engines, and a waste incinerator) at actual sites at McClellan AFB.