A demonstration project in New York City hopes to drastically cut nitrogen oxide pollution coming from waste equipment.

The project covers two roll-off trucks serving Brooklyn and four trash compactors and loaders at transfer stations in Greenpoint and the Harlem River Yard in the Bronx operated by Waste Management Inc.

The machinery is being fitted with pollution control equipment that adds a liquid urea solution to the exhaust.

The solution forms ammonia in the exhaust steam that then mixes with nitrogen oxide, passes through a catalyst in the exhaust system and creates water and harmless nitrogen, according to Clean Air Communities, a consortium of groups involved in air pollution reduction and energy efficiency programs in the city.

The yearlong project is out to prove the technology can be used in the industry, said Glenn Goldstein, program director for Clean Air Communities. "It´s a start," he said. "I think it´s very symbolic more than anything. It´s a demonstration stage technology."

"This NOx reduction technology has the potential to enable us to retrofit existing diesel equipment in a minimum amount of time, cost-effectively and with little or no disruption to our operations," said Tara Hemmer, market area engineer for Waste Management.

Goldstein explained that the equipment is being fitted with tanks containing the urea solution and a system to inject the material into the exhaust.

Combustion Components Associates of Monroe, Conn., manufactures the equipment being used on the waste vehicles.

The technology already has been proven to be successful with stationary diesel equipment, said R. Gifford Broderick, president of Combustion Components. The European Union also has adopted the approach as the preferred way to reduce nitrogen oxides for diesel-powered trucks, he said.

"It has tremendous potential for New York, where thousands of diesel trucks and pieces of industrial equipment are in operation every day," he said.

The goal is to cut nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 70 percent.

Nitrogen oxides help form ground-level ozone, which can trigger respiratory problems. They also contribute to the formation of acid rain and global warming, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Contact Waste News senior reporter Jim Johnson at (937) 964-1289 or jpjohnson@crain.com