New devices promise to eliminate NOx cheaply

Researchers have developed devices that would eliminate nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter from diesel exhaust. Prof. Yoshinobu Yoshihara and his colleagues from Ritsumeikan University said they are working in cooperation with technology solutions provider Horiba Ltd. to perfect a device that uses an ion-ejecting ceramic to eliminate NOx and particulate matter simultaneously without using platinum, while government-affiliated Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth announced that it has partnered with Daihatsu Motor Co. to develop a way to eliminate particulate matter through an electrochemical reaction that incinerates the particles, leaving behind only water and CO2. Testing with a commercial diesel engine suggested that the prototype, which will dissociate NOx compounds from diesel exhaust, will be able to reduce PM emissions to less than half the levels of the new Japanese standard and NOx levels by 74%, clearing the said standard. (April 26/ May 11, 2009)