Effect of Butanol on the Performance of DeNOx Aftertreatment Systems of a Diesel Vehicle Under WLTC Driving Conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Calle-Asensio ◽  
Juan José Hernández ◽  
José Rodríguez-Fernández ◽  
Víctor Domínguez-Pérez

Abstract Advanced biofuels and electrofuels, among which are medium-long chain alcohols, have gained importance in the transport sector with the enforcement of the EU Renewable Energy Directive (2018/2001). In parallel, last European emission regulations have become much more restrictive regarding NOx, so vehicle manufacturers have been forced to incorporate lean NOx trap (LNT) and/or selective catalytic reduction (SCR). Thus, the combination of modern DeNOx devices and the upcoming higher contribution of sustainable biofuels is a new challenge. In this work, two Euro 6 diesel vehicles, one equipped with LNT and the other with ammonia-SCR, have been tested following the Worldwide harmonized Light-duty vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC) at warm (24°C) and cold (−7°C) conditions using conventional diesel fuel and a diesel-butanol (90/10% vol.) blend. While the effect of butanol on the LNT efficiency was not significant, its influence on the SCR performance was notable during the low and medium-speed phases of the driving cycle, mainly under warm climatic conditions. Despite of the lower NOx concentration at the catalyst inlet, the worst efficiency of the SCR with butanol could be attributed to hydrocarbons deposition on the catalyst surface, which inhibits the NOx reduction reactions with ammonia. Moreover, the LNT was not sensitive to the ambient temperature while the SCR performance greatly depended on this parameter.

Author(s):  
Michael A. Smith ◽  
Christopher D. Depcik ◽  
Stefan Klinkert ◽  
John W. Hoard ◽  
Stanislav V. Bohac ◽  
...  

One approach for nitrogen oxides (NOx) emission control of medium duty diesel engines is through the use of a combination Lean NOx Trap and Selective Catalytic Reduction (LNT-SCR) catalyst system. In this system, part of the NOx conversion occurs via an NH3 SCR catalyst that is dependent on the NO2 to NOx ratio of the feed gas with NO2 being a more advantageous oxidizer. One benefit of using this system is the conversion of NO to NO2 over the LNT which increases the NO2:NOx ratio of the feed gas to the SCR catalyst. An experimental study has been performed to investigate the NO2-NH3 reaction for an Fe-based zeolite SCR catalyst using a bench top flow reactor. The increase in NO2 concentration at the inlet of the SCR results in the formation of large quantities of N2O from 200°C to 400°C. Further experiments determined that N2O and NH3 react above 350°C. This has led to a hypothesis that one primary SCR reaction (Slow SCR) can be replaced with two reaction steps featuring NH3, NO2, and N2O. As a result, this paper proposes five NOx reduction reactions as part of a global mechanism, which would account for the observed experimental behavior.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146808742110050
Author(s):  
José Rodríguez-Fernández ◽  
Juan José Hernández ◽  
Ángel Ramos ◽  
Alejandro Calle-Asensio

Transport sector is within a profound changing period, but diesel engines are still called to play a significant role in future supported on their solid share in many regions and superior thermal efficiency compared to spark-ignited engines. This work identifies the parameters that most affect fuel consumption and NOx emissions on a diesel passenger car equipped with a lean NOx trap under different driving cycles and ambient temperatures. High average vehicle velocity was beneficial to reduce the fuel consumed per kilometer. The driving dynamics was of little importance, easily counteracted by a higher thermal efficiency, higher engine temperature (because of a longer trip) or/and an efficient gear shifting strategy. Moreover, at low ambient temperature the latter two factors doubled their weight on fuel economy. Regarding tailpipe NOx, keeping high aftertreatment performance was crucial. For this, low engine-out NOx emissions were four times more important than exhaust temperature or flow rate.


Author(s):  
Amin Reihani ◽  
Brent Patterson ◽  
John Hoard ◽  
Galen B. Fisher ◽  
Joseph R. Theis ◽  
...  

Lean NOx Traps (LNTs) are often used to reduce NOx on smaller diesel passenger cars where urea-based Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems may be difficult to package. However, the performance of LNTs at temperatures above 400°C needs to be improved. The use of Rapidly Pulsed Reductants (RPR) is a process in which hydrocarbons are injected in rapid pulses ahead of the LNT in order to improve its performance at higher temperatures and space velocities. This approach was developed by Toyota and was originally called Di-Air (Diesel NOx aftertreatment by Adsorbed Intermediate Reductants) [1]. There is a vast parameter space that needs to be explored in order to maximize the NOx conversion at high temperatures and flow rates while minimizing the fuel penalty associated with the hydrocarbon injections. Four parameters were identified as important for RPR operation: (1) the flow field and reductant mixing uniformity; (2) the pulsing parameters including the pulse frequency, duty cycle, and rich magnitude; (3) the reductant type; and (4) the catalyst composition, including the type and loading of precious metal, the type and loading of NOx storage material, and the amount of oxygen storage capacity (OSC). In this study, RPR performance was assessed between 150°C and 650°C with several reductants including dodecane, propane, ethylene, propylene, H2, and CO. A novel injection and mixer system was designed that allowed for the investigation of previously unexplored areas of high frequency injections up to f = 100Hz. Under RPR conditions, H2, CO, dodecane, and C2H4 provided approximately 80% NOx conversion at 500°C, but at 600°C the conversions were significantly lower, ranging from 40 to 55%. The NOx conversion with C3H8 was low across the entire temperature range, with a maximum conversion of 25% near 300°C and essentially no conversion at 600°C. In contrast, C3H6 provided greater than 90% NOx conversion over a broad range of temperature between 280°C and 630°C. Among the hydrocarbons, this suggested that the high temperature NOx conversion with RPR improves as the reactivity of the hydrocarbon increases.


Author(s):  
Devesh Upadhyay ◽  
Michiel Van Nieuwstadt

The leading aftertreatment technologies for NOx removal from the exhaust gas of lean burn engines, Diesels in particular, are urea based Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR), Lean NOx Traps (LNT) and Active Lean NOx Catalysts (ALNC). It is generally believed that the SCR technique has the potential of providing the best NOx conversion efficiency relative to the other techniques. Nonetheless, it is crucial that the high conversion efficiencies be achieved with a minimum slippage of unreacted ammonia as tail pipe emissions. This necessitates a precise control over the urea injection process. The complex behavior of the catalyst substrate with respect to adsorption and desorption of ammonia in conjunction with a lack of “stored ammonia” sensing capabilities makes the control problem challenging. In this paper we present a model-based control design approach using a lumped parameter model of an SCR system that includes the essential dynamics of the plant. The model includes the adsorption, desorption and surface coverage dynamics, along with the NOx reduction and ammonia oxidation dynamics based on the relevant chemical reaction rates.


Author(s):  
James E. Parks ◽  
Jim Tassitano

Program goals for the Advanced Reciprocating Engine Systems (ARES) program of the Department of Energy include efficiency and environmental goals. Lean-burn natural gas engines offer higher efficiency than engines that operate with Stoichiometric air-to-fuel mixtures; however, the excess oxygen in the exhaust of lean engines makes NOx reduction with catalytic aftertreatment difficult. Thus, advancing efficiency via lean combustion results in challenges to meet environmental goals. The lean NOx trap catalyst technology is capable of reducing NOx in lean exhaust and, thereby, enables the potential for lean combustion to meet both efficiency and environmental goals. During lean NOx trap catalysis, NOx in oxygen-rich exhaust is trapped on the catalyst by alkali or alkaline earth-based sorbate materials; then, upon exposure to oxygen-depleted exhaust, the NOx is released and reduced to nitrogen in a process called regeneration. The regeneration process renews the catalyst for more NOx trapping; the cyclic process repeats at periods on the order of a minute. Oxygen depletion during regeneration is accomplished by temporarily operating the catalyst at rich air-to-fuel ratios; traditionally, a variety of methods have been utilized to achieve rich conditions for the catalyst. In this presentation, research of a lean NOx trap on a lean natural gas engine will be presented. Natural gas from the engine supply was used to provide the reductant for the lean NOx trap regeneration process. The natural gas is injected into the exhaust system where oxidation and reforming catalysts partially oxidize and/or reform the natural gas into reductants suitable for lean NOx trap regeneration. Studies of the natural gas oxidation and reforming processes and their relation to NOx reduction performance will be presented.


Author(s):  
Shawn Midlam-Mohler ◽  
Yann Guezennec

Lean NOx Traps (LNTs) have shown promise for Diesel applications; however, production implementation in vehicles poses a number of challenges. Much of the literature reports on LNT systems in which the catalyst always receives the full flow of exhaust from the engine, referred here as full-flow regeneration systems. Another implementation of the LNT is one in which the exhaust can be partially or fully diverted from the catalyst to allow local introduction of the necessary reductants for regeneration. The physical aspects of one such system, as well as a control-oriented model are presented with experimental validation. In the system described here, the exhaust flow is diverted around the catalyst during regenerations. In the low exhaust flow through the catalyst, reductant is added (Diesel fuel typically) which provides the rich conditions for regenerating the trap. This allows the engine to continue to run in normal lean mode, which overcomes one of the major challenges for full-flow regeneration systems. Successful regeneration with liquid Diesel fuel is strongly dependent on catalyst temperature, which is addressed by proper thermal management of the system through the addition of fuel prior to regeneration. In this paper, both component level and vehicle level simulations are presented in terms of fuel economy versus NOx reduction. Several different system configurations and control strategies are compared.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1615-1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junhui Li ◽  
Neal Currier ◽  
Aleksey Yezerets ◽  
Hai-Ying Chen ◽  
Howard Hess ◽  
...  

Catalysts ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 696
Author(s):  
Yue Zhu ◽  
Gang Lv ◽  
Chonglin Song ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
Yantao Zhu ◽  
...  

This work aimed to optimize the washcoat slurry for hydrotalcite-based lean NOx trap (LNT) catalyst. The effects of the slurry properties including pH, solid content, binder and additive on the hydrotalcite-based slurry viscosity were investigated. The particle size distribution of the optimal hydrotalcite-based slurry was measured. A cordierite material was used to coat the optimal slurry, and the washcoat was characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and N2 adsorption. The optimal slurry containing Pt and Ba was coated on the cordierite for the preparation of hydrotalcite-based LNT catalyst, and the performances of this catalyst were evaluated by NOx storage test, temperature programmed desorption and NOx reduction. For comparison, the performance of the commercial LNT catalyst with Pt/BaO/Al2O3 was analyzed. After coating, the hydrotalcite-based washcoat was closely contacted with the support, being the main phase MgO and presenting a specific surface area of 86.3 m2/g. The hydrotalcite-based LNT catalyst had better NOx storage and desorption ability, selectivity to N2 and LNT efficiency than the Pt/BaO/Al2O3 catalyst.


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