Inhaling smog results in lung damage, aggravation of existing heart disease and premature death, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Laboratory tests also have shown the new technology has the potential for significant soot reduction. The soot portion of exhaust consists of tiny particles of carbon and organics that are potentially harmful to human health because they lodge deep in the lungs where they contribute to respiratory disease. New hybrid, light-duty diesel engines, such as those used in passenger cars and small trucks, already meet target fuel economy requirements and emit less of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide than gasoline engines. But unlike gasoline engines, there is no technology that can sufficiently reduce nitrogen oxides in the lean-burn exhaust typical of diesel vehicles.
Nitrogen oxides cause air pollution.
Six years ago, this field of non-thermal plasma activated catalysis didn't exist, but it appears to have many advantages over competing technologies. Recent prototype reactor tests conducted on a diesel engine at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory show a 50 percent reduction of NOx. Researchers are continuing to refine the plasma reactor system, which received a patent in 1999, to achieve an even greater reduction of NOx. PNGV targets are a 90 percent reduction in NOx emissions at 80 miles per gallon. There is more work to be done to reduce the amount of electrical power required to operate the reactor and to increase the overall NOx reduction from 50 to 90 percent on a real engine.