No Urea Needed

A 4-Year-old Canadian Upstart Says it has the answer to meeting tough oxides of nitrogen diesel-emissions standards on the books for 2010 — without having to resort to problematic urea-based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems.

NxtGen Emission Controls Inc., based in Burnaby, BC, Canada, and in the process of setting up manufacturing, application engineering and sales operations in Wixom, MI, says its emissions system replaces both SCR technology used to control NOx and other systems employed to cleanse clogged diesel particulate filters with a single generator that creates syngas from diesel fuel already onboard.

The syngas generator, about the size of a Coke bottle, produces a partial oxidation reaction that converts diesel fuel, mixed with about 2% of the airflow from the exhaust manifold, into hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The gas is pumped into the particulate filter and lean-NOx trap (LNT) to actively regenerate them.

Currently, manufacturers have resorted to injecting diesel fuel directly into particulate filters to burn off accumulated particulates, but NxtGen officials say the hydrogen produced via their device does a more thorough job, is more controllable and operates at lower temperatures.

Using the NxtGen system to purge the LNT would allow auto makers and truck engine builders to dodge use of complex SCR technology, which injects urea from a reservoir into the exhaust stream.

Audi AG, Volkswagen AG, Mercedes-Benz, BMW AG, General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC all are planning to introduce light-duty diesels with SCR systems in order to meet U.S. 2010 NOx requirements.

Honda Motor Co. Ltd. will introduce a diesel that meets the standard without urea. Its system creates its own ammonia, using it to convert NOx stored in the catalyst into harmless nitrogen and water.

The NxtGen device is non-catalytic, the developer says, so there are no costly precious metals used in its construction.

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