Martin J. Heimrich

AIR INJECTION TO AN ELECTRICALLY-HEATED CATALYST FOR REDUCING COLD- START BENZENE EMISSIONS FROM GASOLINE VEHICLES

This paper describes the laboratory effort to determine the emissions benefit of cold-start air injection to a preheated automotive catalyst. Previous experimentation with an electrically-heated catalyst on a gasoline-fueled vehicle with no supplemental air showed little improvement in hydrocarbon emission control. This study determined that heating an automotive exhaust emission catalyst prior to cold-start operation may not be sufficient in itself. Supplemental oxygen may be required for improved emissions control. Finally, it was demonstrated that the gasoline vehicle used in this study, equipped with an electrically-heated catalyst and air injection, provided Federal Test Procedure (FTP) emission rates of non- methane organic gases (NMOG), CO, and NOx near or at the California standards for the ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV). For the covering abstract see IRRD 851463.

Demonstration of Lean Nox Catalytic Converter Technology on a Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine

Experimental catalysts for the reduction of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) were evaluated on a 258-horsepower (192 kW) direct-injection heavy-duty diesel engine. An experimental reductant delivery system provided supplementary hydrocarbons for the reduction of NOx. Initially, diesel fuel was used as the supplementary reductant. Early experiments resulted in a 10 to 17 percent reduction in NOx emissions when tested using the heavy-duty engine transient Federal Test Procedure (FTP), and a 30 to 40 percent reduction at selected steadystate catalyst inlet temperatures. A fuel economy penalty of five percent was measured for initial FTP experiments. Emissions of total hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM) tended to increase during initial experiments with the addition of the supplemental reductant, but these emissions decreased with the incorporation of improved catalyst formulations and reductant fuel spray calibrations. Additional experiments were performed with ethanol and toluene as supplemental NOx reducing agents. Emissions of nitrous oxide (N20) were measured and found to increase when NOx emissions were reduced with the diesel NOx catalysts tested. Steady-state emissions tests revealed a very narrow temperature window for NOx reduction. Initial project results are encouraging, but further catalyst and system development is required to meet future emissions and durability requirements.

Lean-NOx reduction catalysis by metal-complex impregnated molecular sieves – Effect of ligands and metals

Abstract We have developed lean-NOx catalysts using modified mesoporous molecular sieves which operate under very low hydrocarbon concentrations. Transition metal (copper and iron)-complex impregnated mesoporous molecular sieves have been synthesized. Cryptand type ligands (L1 and L2) have been used for complex formation. The ligand plays a crucial role in the complex formation and catalytic activity. These metal-complex impregnated molecular sieves are further treated with [Pd(NH3)4] Cl2. Fe–L2 and Cu–L2-based catalysts are active towards NOx reduction under oxygen rich (lean-NOx) conditions. The catalytic activity towards NOx, CO and HC was studied using simulated exhaust gas, as well as engine exhaust gas from a lean burning gasoline engine. Using engine exhaust gas at an air/fuel ratio of 16.10, test results showed a reduction of NOx up to 10% at inlet temperatures ranging from 260°C to 285°C and HC/NOx=2/1.

Powertrain Component Inspection from Mid-Level Blends Vehicle Aging Study

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 calls on the nation to significantly increase its use of renewable fuels to meet its transportation energy needs. The law expands the renewable fuel standard to require use of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2022. Given that ethanol is the most widely used renewable fuel in the U.S. market, ethanol will likely make up a significant portion of the 36-billion-gallon requirement. The vast majority of ethanol used in the United States is blended with gasoline to create E10-gasoline with up to 10% ethanol. The remaining ethanol is sold in the form of E85 - a gasoline blend with as much as 85% ethanol that can only be used in flexible-fuel vehicles (FFVs). Consumption of E85 is at present limited by both the size of the FFV fleet and the number of E85 fueling stations. Gasoline consumption in the United States is currently about 140 billion gallons per year; thus the maximum use of ethanol as E10 is only about 14 billion gallons. While the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) remains committed to expanding the E85 infrastructure, that market represented less than 1% of the ethanol consumed in 2010 and will not be able to absorb projected volumes of ethanol in the near term. Because of these factors, DOE and others have been assessing the viability of using mid-level ethanol blends (E15 or E20) as a way to accommodate growing volumes of ethanol. The DOE Mid-Level Ethanol Blends Test Program has been under way since 2007, supported jointly by the Office of the Biomass Program and the Vehicle Technologies Program. One of the larger projects, the Catalyst Durability Study, or Vehicle Aging Study, will be completed early in calendar year 2011. The following report describes a subproject of the Vehicle Aging Study in which powertrain components from 18 of the vehicles were examined at Southwest Research Institute under contract to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).