A Study on Reducing Effects of NO_x Exhausted from Combustion Systems using Azo Compounds

Abstract

Reducing effects of nitric oxides (NO_x) exhausted from combustion systems have been studied by adding various azo compounds such as azodicarbonamide and 2, 2-azobis-isobutyronitrile to simulated exhaust gases in an electrically heated quartz flow reactor under different conditions of temperature, gas composition and residence period.
As a result, it is shown that azo compounds can reduce nearly 100% of NO_x in the simulated model exhaust gases at 750°C. We suggest that at elevated temperature azo compounds should decompose to produce NH₂, CN and alkyl radicals having NO_x reducing effects.