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Media Contact: Fred Strohl
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Audio Spot: Tracking truck emissions

 Audio Clip  
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., May 3, 2005 — Engineers at the National Transportation Research Center-- a user facility of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory -- have developed the Spatially Resolved Capillary Inlet Mass Spectrometer, which measures the chemical makeup of intake and exhaust air as it travels through the engine.

An adsorber serves as a catalyst in reducing the amounts of oxides of nitrogen, transforming the emissions into harmless nitrogen. The SpaciMS can characterize and measure the different chemicals present in the catalyst, and how those change over time as the NOx is converted to nitrogen.

The SpaciMS contributes to increasing fuel efficiency while meeting upcoming new emissions standards. The technology will allow a more accurate reading of the chemical makeup of truck exhaust and emissions under the stricter federal diesel emissions standards to take effect in 2007.

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