Plasma Based Devices
Abstract
Plasma processing is now considered an exciting prospect for control of noxious effluents from many different sources including diesel engines, power plants, factories, and incinerators. Energy-efficient plasma-based technologies, supported through this grant, are now under commercial investigation for pollution abatement, and have potential for reduced emissions, higher efficiencies, simplified processing, and lower costs, while allowing the use of existing power plants and energy sources. Such advances are critically important to the maintenance of a competitive industrial infrastructure while simultaneously reducing pollutants, greenhouse gases and energy-usage. --Successful plasma-systems for emissions control will, for example, allow continued use of energy-efficient diesel engines in moving and stationary sources, and can be detached under emergency DOD conditions. One attaches a plasma "muffler" to provide a plasma chemistry that takes advantage of significantly enhanced plasma-chemical processes through increased rates and related cross-sections of interactions between species which reduces emissions. Research supported by the ARO at USC has developed new plasma technology for remediation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) sources including diesel engines. In work to date, we have found efficient, effective NOx reduction using pulsed power techniques. This method will have broad and very significant impact on the reduction of other forms of air pollution. This technology will, in our judgment, also allow plasma treatment of volumes of combustive fuel by ion and radical injection at low energy cost, thus enhancing combustion, reducing emissions and signatures, and holding promise for leaner-burning combustants, all of which are important for the DOD. The most promising methods are based on applications of transient plasmas and on advanced power conditioning.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA411648
Entities
People
- Martin A. Gundersen
Organizations
- University of Southern California