Removal of nitrogen oxides in diesel engine exhaust by plasma assisted molecular sieves

The author reports the studies conducted on removal of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) from diesel engine exhaust using electrical discharge plasma combined with adsorbing materials such as molecular sieves. This study is being reported for the first time. The exhaust is taken from a diesel engine of 6 kW under no load conditions. The characteristic behavior of a pulse energized dielectric barrier discharge reactor in the diesel exhaust treatment is reported. The NOx removal was not significant (36%) when the reactor without any packing was used. However, when the reactor was packed with molecular sieves (MS-3A, -4A and -13X), the NOx removal efficiency was increased to 78% particularly at a temperature of 200 degree C. The studies were conducted at different temperatures and the results were discussed