A new, patented catalyst developed by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory that can cut 95 to 100 percent of the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from diesel engines has been licensed to Integrated Fuel Technologies Inc.,
a Washington State start-up company with offices in Kirkland and Spokane.

IFT plans to integrate the technology -- named Diesel DeNOx Catalyst -- into the firm's existing products that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that could be sold to original equipment manufacturers.

"OEMs like Paccar, Cummins, Siemens, BASF, Corning and John Deere have expressed an interest in IFT products enhanced with the Diesel DeNOx Catalyst," said IFT President Robert Firebaugh. "These companies want to know if the technology can survive continuous testing."

"The catalyst can also be easily retrofitted for installation on existing diesel engine vehicles," said Christopher Marshall, the Argonne chemist who led the development of technology.

Argonne and IFT aim for the Diesel DeNOx technology to meet standards set by the California Air Resources Board, which are the strictest in the United States.

IFT is also collaborating with Argonne under a two-year research agreement to test the technology's longevity in real-world use and to demonstrate it in real world applications to determine if it can meet a broad array of transportation applications.

The Diesel DeNOx Catalyst is a coating that is applied to a ceramic brick, like a catalytic converter, which is installed in a vehicle's emissions system. The technology works in conjunction with the particulate matter (PM) trap's filter. The PM trap's filter removes soot from diesel exhaust, which is then processed by the Diesel DeNOx Catalyst to remove NOx emissions.

"The key to the Diesel DeNOx Catalyst technology is the reductant," Marshall said. "Interestingly, it is the diesel fuel that reduces the NOx to nitrogen, a harmless compound that composes about 72 percent of the Earth's atmosphere. The catalyst achieves such high rates of conversion because of its interactions with the hydrocarbons in the diesel fuel. The reduction in NOx emissions comes as a result of its conversion into nitrogen."

Marshall and Argonne fellow researchers have also found the Diesel DeNOx Catalyst to be economical to make and use. The technology uses inexpensive metals -- copper and cerium. Using diesel fuel as the reductant eliminates the need for onboard storage of compounds like ammonia or urea that existing technologies use as reductants, he said. Compared to existing technologies, Diesel DeNOx reduces the amount of additional weight a vehicle has to carry, allowing for more efficient use of a vehicle's fuel, Marshall said.