Cutting-edge instrumentation reveals mechanism behind catalysis that neutralizes air-polluting NOx from power plant emissions.
Cutting-edge instrumentation reveals mechanism behind catalysis that neutralizes air-polluting NOx from power plant emissions.
We’ve known for decades that catalysts speed up the reaction that reduces harmful industrial emissions. And now, we know exactly how they do it.
A recent paper by Israel Wachs, the G. Whitney Snyder Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, describes the mechanism, and was the inside back cover story of the September 2, 2019, issue of Angewandte Chemie, a journal of the German Chemical Society.
Power plants are a major source of toxic emissions associated with climate change. When fossil fuels like coal and natural gas are burned, they produce dangerous contaminants, in particular, a group of harmful gases called nitrogen oxides (or NOx) that contribute to acid rain, ground-level ozone formation, and greenhouse gases.
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Image: Israel Wachs, G. Whitney Snyder Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science, Lehigh University (Credit: Lehigh University)
