Weatherization Department
The Friday * Report Friday June 6, 1997
From
The National
Conservation Guild.
970-349-0551 fax
970-349-0923 voice
Info@National Guild.com
WebSite
http://NationalGuild.com
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'Star Wars' vs. Smog
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Professor Uses Electron Beams Developed for 'Star Wars' Program to Fight Diesel Exhaust
From the LA Times
Wielding electron plasma beams that he helped develop for the Defense Department's "Star Wars"program, USC physics professor Martin Gundersen has homed in on a more earthly target--diesel exhaust. To develop a high-tech tailpipe that zaps pollutants from exhaust, Gundersen, 57, has joined forces with a former Russian scientist, Victor Puchkarev, who worked during the Cold War on a rival system
designed to down U.S. missiles.
Both scientists insist that they see no irony in their new alliance."To me it seems natural. I supported [the Strategic Defense Initiative] and opposing those quote-unquote godless Communists," said Gundersen jokingly. "They were a threat. They had missiles pointed at us."
"[But] on a level of applied physics, we really have common interests."
The scientists' test subject was a rusted diesel Volkswagen Rabbit with a leaky radiator and flat tires. It spewed plenty of pollution, allowing the team to assess the efficiency of their tailpipe. That is, until USC Parking Operations towed it away.
Undaunted, Gundersen said they had done about as much research as they could with the $550 car they found through the Pennysaver.
Their new device, called a plasma reactor, looks something like a typical tailpipe. It sends through the exhaust high-voltage pulses that, Gundersen says, can chemically change hazardous nitrogen oxides (NOx) to nitrogen and oxygen--the molecules that make up clean air.
"My goal would be to have the air going out of the engine cleaner than the air going in," Gundersen said.
The applications for such technology could be far-reaching, he said. The Navy, under pressure to conform to state and federal environmental emission standards, has provided funds for him to develop a device to fit on the smokestacks of its diesel-powered warships.
"We are optimistic about this," said Gabriel Roy, propulsion manager at the Office of Naval Research. "The advantages to this are that it can be easily added on and switched on and off."
Gundersen hopes that the device, which he says also breaks down particulate matter like that in smoke, can be used on trucks, buses, trains, tractors and construction equipment.
"If I can make it work really well for even one of those things," he said, "it would be worth every cent of it."
The range of possible commercial applications for the plasma reactor will depend on how much power the device drains from the engine, said Mark J. Kushner, an expert in the field and a professor at the University of Illinois.
Gunderson's aim is 5%.