Electrogenerative reduction of nitric oxide for pollution abatement

Nitric oxide can be electrocatalytically reduced selectively and removed from mixtures of gases which include constituents encountered in stationary power plant effluents. Several of these constituents, including sulfur dioxide and its reduction products, inhibit oxygen reduction in electrogenerative cells while having much less effect on nitric oxide reduction and its removal from simulated effluent-type gas streams. The possibility of utilizing suitable electrochemical cells for removing nitric oxide from effluent gas streams of managed composition in power plants is suggested, together with the possibility of recovering reduced constituents as useful chemicals.