Control of Emissions
Methods and apparatus utilizing chlorine dioxide and hydrogen peroxide are useful to reduce emissions of NOx, SOx, and heavy metals, e.g., mercury, emissions from combustion flue gas streams.
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Methods and apparatus utilizing chlorine dioxide and hydrogen peroxide are useful to reduce emissions of NOx, SOx, and heavy metals, e.g., mercury, emissions from combustion flue gas streams.
Methods and apparatus utilizing chlorine dioxide and hydrogen peroxide are useful to reduce NOx emissions, as well as SOx and mercury (or other heavy metal) emissions, from combustion flue gas streams.
Concentrated animal feeding operations (both slaughter and dairy cattle) lead to land, water, and air pollution if waste storage and handling systems are not effectively managed. At the same time, cattle biomass (CB), which includes both slaughter/feedlot biomass (FB) and dairy biomass (DB), have the potential to be a source of green energy at coal-fired power plants. Part I presented results on NOx reductions with pure FB or Coal: FB blends as reburn fuels. Part II deals with results from reburning with pure DB or Coal: DB blends as reburn fuels. A mixture of NG with a small amount of NH3 was used to generate the baseline NOx of 400–420 ppm (or 185–194 g/GJ). NOx emissions were found to be reduced by as much as 96% when reburning with FB. The effects of reburn fuel type, equivalence ratio (ER RBZ ) in the reburn zone, vitiated air, several injection configurations of reburn fuel and initial NO concentrations on NOx emissions were investigated. The ER RBZ shows a significant effect on the NOx reduction. The 20% heat input by reburning was the better operating condition for the long-term operation due to its ash production. The results reveal that reburn with DB fuels is an effective technology for NOx emission control when the initial NOx emission is higher than 275 ppm (or 127 g/GJ or 0.3 lb/MMBtu).
Research on thermal space environment, computer programs for thermal control, emissivity, space effects on thermal control coatings, infrared physics, and thermal flight experiments
The plasma contactor performance is outlined. Some performance objectives are given including expellant compatibility, high electron production capability, high ion production capability, high reliability for starting and operation, passive emission control, switchover capability between ion/electron emission, low ion and electron energies, low system mass, and low expellant consumption rate. The basic elements of the hollow cathode are shown along with key features of the plasma source.
The sources and sinks of nitrous oxide, as control emissions to the atmosphere, are generally poorly constrained for most environmental systems. Initial depth-resolved analysis of nitrous oxide flux from observation wells and the proximal surface within a nitrate contaminated aquifer system revealed high subsurface production but little escape from the surface. Further, to better understand the environmental controls of production and emission at this site, we used a combination of isotopic, geochemical, and molecular analyses to show that chemodenitrification and bacterial denitrification are major sources of nitrous oxide in this subsurface, where low DO, low pH, and high nitrate are correlated with significant nitrous oxide production. Depth-resolved metagenomes showed that consumption of nitrous oxide near the surface was correlated with an enrichment of Clade II nitrous oxide reducers, consistent with a growing appreciation of their importance in controlling release of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. Our work also provides evidence for the reduction of nitrous oxide at a pH of 4, well below the generally accepted limit of pH 5.
Advancements in photonic quantum information systems (QIS) have driven the development of high-brightness, on-demand, and indistinguishable semiconductor epitaxial quantum dots (QDs) as single photon sources. Strain-free, monodisperse, and spatially sparse local-droplet-etched (LDE) QDs have recently been demonstrated as a superior alternative to traditional Stranski–Krastanov QDs. However, integration of LDE QDs into nanophotonic architectures with the ability to scale to many interacting QDs is yet to be demonstrated. Here, we present a potential solution by embedding isolated LDE GaAs QDs within an Al 0.4 Ga 0.6 As Huygens’ metasurface with spectrally overlapping fundamental electric and magnetic dipolar resonances. We demonstrate for the first time a position- and size-independent, 1 order of magnitude increase in the collection efficiency and emission lifetime control for single-photon emission from LDE QDs embedded within the Huygens’ metasurfaces. Our results represent a significant step toward leveraging the advantages of LDE QDs within nanophotonic architectures to meet the scalability demands of photonic QIS.
Surface ozone (O3) concentrations in excess of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) continue to occur in metropolitan areas in the United States despite efforts to control emissions of O3 precursors. Future O3 control strategies will be based on results from modeling efforts that have just begun in many areas. Two initial questions that arise are model sensitivity to domain-specific conditions and the selection of episodes for model evaluation and control strategy development. For the Baltimore-Washington region (B-W), the presence of the Chesapeake Bay introduces a number of issues relevant to model sensitivity. In this paper, the specific questions of the determination of model volume (mixing height) for the Urban Airshed Model (UAM) is discussed and various alternative methods compared. For the latter question, several analytic approaches, Cluster Analysis and classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis are undertaken to determine meteorological conditions associated with severe O3 events in the B-W domain.
Coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) account for > 70% of electricity generation in India, but < 5% of facilities have installed technologies for sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) and nitrogen oxide (NO X ) removal. Emissions of these pollutants lead to the formation of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and an increased risk of premature mortality for exposed populations. Here, we use a nested version of the GEOS-Chem global chemical transport model (0.5° × 0.625° resolution) for India to estimate reductions in PM 2.5 concentrations that could have been achieved by implementing existing emission control technologies like flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) and/or selective catalytic reduction (SCR). We quantify the associated burden of disease using the integrated exposure response (IER) and global exposure mortality model (GEMM) functions and compare the costs of premature mortality to those for FGD installation. Model simulations for 2010 suggest installation of FGD would have reduced mean annual PM 2.5 concentrations across India by 8%, compared to 3% with SCR installation, and 11% with both FGD and SCR. A 7–28% reduction in PM 2.5 was simulated for local communities closest to CFPPs (same model grid cell), leading to up to 17% reduction in annual premature mortality. Overall, more than 0.21–0.48 million premature deaths would have been avoided over a 10-year period if FGD had been implemented on all CFPPs, compared to 0.09–0.21 million with SCR and 0.22–0.72 million with both FGD and SCR. Benefits associated with such actions are approximately $\$18.1$–$\$604$ billion USD per year, which is equivalent to ~ 0.44 to 10% of India’s GDP. These results suggest that monetary benefits from avoided premature mortality far outweigh the capital and operational costs of FGD and/or SCR installation of $\$19.5$ billion and/or $\$32.8$ billion per year, respectively. This information is essential because the high costs of installation and operation are often given as reasons for delaying installation and commissioning. Finally, we conclude that policy actions to control air pollution from CFPPs are economically justifiable.
This report highlights progress achieved by the Advanced Engine and Fuel Technologies Program during fiscal year 2021. The nature, current focus, and recent progress of the Program are described together with summaries of National Laboratory, industry, and university projects that provide an overview of the exciting work being conducted to address critical technical barriers and challenges to commercializing higher-efficiency engine, emissions control, and fuel technologies for passenger and commercial vehicles.
Two-dimensional (2D) semiconductor heterostructures are key building blocks for many electronic and optoelectronic devices. Reconfiguring the band-edge states and modulating their interplay with charge carriers at the interface in a continuous manner have long been sought yet are challenging. Here, using organic semiconductor–incorporated 2D halide perovskites as the model system, we realize the manipulation of band-edge states and charge distribution via mechanical—rather than chemical or thermal—regulation. Compression induces band-alignment switching and charge redistribution due to the different pressure responses of organic and inorganic building blocks, giving controllable emission properties of 2D perovskites. We propose and demonstrate a “pressure gating” strategy that enables the control of multiple emission states within a single material. We also reveal that band-alignment transition at the organic-inorganic interface is intrinsically not well resolved at room temperature owing to the thermally activated transfer and shuffling of band-edge carriers. This work provides important fundamental insights into the energetics and carrier dynamics of hybrid semiconductor heterostructures.
Regulatory drivers and market demands for lower pollutant emissions, lower carbon dioxide emissions, and lower fuel consumption motivate the development of clean and fuel-efficient engine operating strategies. Most current production engines use a combination of both in-cylinder and exhaust emission control strategies to achieve these goals. The emissions and efficiency performance of in-cylinder strategies depend strongly on flow and mixing processes associated with fuel injection. Both heavy- and light-duty engine/vehicle manufacturers use multiple-injection strategies to reduce noise, emissions, and fuel consumption. For both conventional and low-temperature diesel combustion, the state of knowledge and modeling tools for multiple injections are far less advanced than for single-injection strategies. Engine efficiency is limited to some degree by tradeoffs that must be accepted to meet particulate matter (including soot) emissions limits. Recent work on this project has filled some knowledge gaps on soot oxidation with multiple injections, and the current work for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 addresses knowledge gaps on soot formation for multiple injections. While total in-cylinder soot is readily measured, discerning formation from oxidation is difficult. The FY 2018 experiments are designed to create in-cylinder conditions at the threshold of soot formation, where processes that affect soot formation can be more readily discerned. Soot formation pathways under such conditions are fraught with uncertainties, and soot models significantly overpredict polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and soot, so experimental data at these conditions will provide much needed data for improvements to PAH and soot models.
Regulatory drivers and market demands for lower pollutant emissions, lower carbon dioxide emissions, and lower fuel consumption motivate the development of cleaner and more fuel-efficient engine operating strategies. Most current production heavy-duty diesel engines use a combination of both in-cylinder and exhaust emissions-control strategies to achieve these goals. The emissions and efficiency performance of in-cylinder strategies depend strongly on flow and mixing processes that can be influenced by using multiple fuel injections. Past work performed under this project showed that adding a second injection can reduce soot to levels below what would have been produced by an unchanged first injection, thereby increasing load while decreasing soot and potentially reducing brake specific fuel consumption. Information characterizing the important in-cylinder processes with multiple injections has been gleaned from ensemble-averaged planar laser-induced incandescence (PLII) imaging visualizing the soot cloud and planar induced fluorescence (PLIF) of OH characterizing the soot oxidation regions. PLII showed a consistent disruption of the first injection soot cloud by the second injection. In conjunction with OH-PLIF, differences in soot oxidation patterns for multiple injections compared to single injections were observed. This understanding was further enhanced in FY20, when high-speed imaging resolving the above-mentioned effects in a single cycle were combined with direct numerical simulations investigating the multiple-injection ignition process on the microscopic level of turbulence and chemistry interaction. In FY21, these findings in conjunction with findings from other researchers published in the scientific literature were composed into a preliminary multiple-injection conceptual model of fuel-mixing, injection and ignition processes. Remaining key research questions were also highlighted. In addition, wall heat flux was investigated experimentally and with numerical simulations to understand the potential of multiple injections to reduce the engine heat losses and further enhance the efficiency.
The peak frequencies of the Io-dependent part of the Jovian emissions are compared with the surface gyrofrequency determined from Jovian magnetic models in order to localize the source of Jovian radio emissions. The bulk of the Io-controlled emissions was found to be delayed by up to 70 deg of equatorial longitude from the predicted instantaneous position of the Io flux tube, with the L and S emissions both displaying this same unexpected behavior. It is suggested that the source of these emissions is delayed substantially with respect to Io either as an Alfven-wave delay or because of errors in the magnetic field models.
Io's control of Jovian decametric radio emission (DAM) has been attributed to Io distorting the electron distribution in the inner Jovian magnetosphere. Observations of Faraday rotation in DAM are used to determine the properties of the electron distribution before and after its interaction with Io. It is shown that there is an enhancement in the density of the energetic component in the Io plasma torus correlated with certain Jovian longitude. Io's interaction with this energetic component can produce heating of this component. The Io-controlled emission is attributed to enhanced emission from the heated electrons moving down the field lines to Jupiter.
In support of the Vehicle Technology Office’s goal for future U.S. economic growth, the Advanced Engine and Fuel Technologies Program focuses early-stage research and development on improving the understanding of combustion processes, fuel properties, and emissions control technologies, generating knowledge and insight necessary for industry to develop the next generation of engines and fuels for the efficient, cost-effective, and secure transportation of people and goods across America.
Galileo has been in orbit around Jupiter since December 1995 and a large database has been collected. We present the results of a survey of the plasma wave data for the frequency range 2.0 MHz to 5.6 MHz, the low frequency decametric (DAM) emissions. While the control of a portion of the radio emission by the moon lo is well known, and Ganymede control has been more recently indicated, we report that a small but significant portion of DAM emission is seen to be correlated with the orbital phase of Callisto. While the occurrence rate of emission controlled by Ganymede and Callisto is considerably less than for lo, the power levels can be nearly the same. We estimate the power of the Callisto-dependent emission to be approx. 70% of the Io-dependent radio emission and about the same as the Ganymede-dependent radio emission. This result indicates an Alfven current system associated with Callisto, and thus a significant interaction of the magnetosphere of Callisto with that of Jupiter as is believed to exist for both lo and Ganymede.
Hydrocarbon traps for exhaust emissions control adsorb hydrocarbons in low temperature exhaust and release them as the exhaust warms up. In this work, a Pd/BEA hydrocarbon trap was tested under lean exhaust conditions using ethylene and dodecane as model hydrocarbons. Ethylene uptake was partially inhibited by CO and H2O when fed separately. When both were added, the loss in ethylene uptake was 90% relative to the condition with no H2O or CO. Dodecane uptake was unchanged under all conditions tested. During a temperature ramp, ethylene desorbed and was combusted to CO2 and H2O over active Pd centers. Further, oxidation light-off of dodecane generated an exotherm which caused rapid desorption of the remaining hydrocarbon species from the zeolite. For both hydrocarbons, CO co-feed led to a decreased oxidation light-off temperature, and therefore lower desorption temperature. By pretreating the catalyst in CO and H2O at 80 °C, and even after removing CO from the feed, the enhanced oxidation light-off behavior was observed. DRIFTS characterization shows that some form of oxidized Pd was reducible to Pd0 by CO at 80 °C only in the presence of H2O. Further, this reduction appears reversible by high temperature oxygen treatment. We speculate that this reduced Pd phase serves as the active site for low temperature hydrocarbon oxidation.