In an effort to improve the region's air quality, the city of Houston Wednesday (Aug. 7) approved a $3.8 million contract with the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering to test new technologies that may help reduce emissions from the city's fleet of 2,800 diesel-powered vehicles.
The focus of the five-year project, headed by UH's Department of Chemical Engineering, is to conduct diesel emission research, technology development, testing and data analysis. In-kind contributions from the university will bring the total project cost to $4.6 million.
"Currently there are emerging technologies and several at the research stage that offer promising possibilities for reducing the polluting emissions found in diesel engine exhaust," said Michael Harold, professor and chair of UH's Department of Chemical Engineering and the principal investigator on the air quality project. "It will be UH's task to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of these technologies, especially in reducing nitrogen oxides."
Nitrogen oxides, or NOx, are precursor chemicals that react in the atmosphere to form ozone, a key component of smog. Common sources of NOx include cars, trucks, marine vessels, power generation and industrial processes.
"The opportunity for the City of Houston and the University of Houston to collaborate in assessing the relative effectiveness of innovative technologies designed to reduce diesel emissions is exciting," said Pamela Berger, the city's Director of Environmental Policy.
"Mayor Brown has prioritized addressing our regional air quality challenge, and, through work done in response to his Executive Order, has positioned the city to participate in this progressive effort. It is a certainty that NOx emissions from on-road diesel-fueled equipment will have to be reduced by some 70 percent since the region cannot attain the one hour ozone standard if such reductions are not achieved."
The testing facility, to be located on the perimeter of the UH campus near the feeder road of I-45, will include a heavy-duty dynamometer, which is essentially a treadmill for trucks, and a state-of-the-art emission analysis system. The vehicles will undergo a series of sophisticated tests under simulated driving conditions.
"There is a notable shortage of facilities to test diesel emission control technologies for their effectiveness," Harold said. "We will fill a need in Southeast Texas. By analyzing data taken both before and after the vehicles are modified, we will be able to evaluate how effective these new devices are in reducing emissions. In addition, our tests will help the city make informed decisions about how to invest money in technology to reduce emissions in the city fleet."
Harold said faculty members in the UH chemical engineering department are particularly well suited to take on such a project, noting that chemical engineers played a key role in the development of the automobile catalytic converter about 30 years ago.
"Development of these new technologies and devices requires strong capabilities in catalytic reaction engineering, and several of our faculty members are experts in this area. We have strong research efforts under way at UH in emission control technology. This new program will not only provide a service for the City of Houston, but it will also help us to evaluate various innovative technologies, including those we're developing," he said.
As the project with the city progresses, Harold said he would like to see research efforts expand to include partners at the state level, private industry, and federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation. The chemical engineering department currently receives funding for environmental reaction engineering research from the State of Texas Advanced Technology Program.
In addition to Harold, faculty members involved in the program are Vemuri Balakotaiah, professor of chemical engineering; Dan Luss, Cullen Professor of Engineering; James Richardson, professor of chemical engineering; and Charles Rooks, adjunct professor of chemical engineering. Graduate and undergraduate students also will participate in the research associated with the project.
Included in the contract with the city is $100,000 for a two-year project headed by UH's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for research on coatings for concrete and clay brick surfaces, such as walls and roofs, that help prevent deterioration of the city's wastewater systems. An effective coating, for example, would reduce the frequency and extent of disruption associated with the repair and replacement of the city's sewer lines, especially when located under streets and sidewalks.
The project examines the long-term performance of various coatings and includes both full-scale and laboratory-scale testing of coated materials. Data on the long-term chemical resistance and bonding strength of sixteen coating materials will be collected and analyzed to help City of Houston engineers identify the best coating materials for use in city facilities, such as pump stations and manholes.
The coating research team will be lead by Cumaraswamy Vipulanandan, professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UH and director of the Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology.