Abstract:
A highly reactive reducing gas mixture is produced from vehicle fuel and introduced into the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine operated at lean burn conditions and passed over a reducing catalyst to convert NOX emissions to benign emissions. Preferably, fuel with oxygen present in a carrier gas is metered into a plasma reactor having a bed of dielectric particles which prevent formation of coke as the fuel is reacted. The plasma induces a number of simultaneous reactions with the fuel to produce a substantial amount of oxygenated and non-oxygenated, unbranched organic molecules at relatively low temperatures that are highly reactive and ideally suited for use as a reducing agent in an SCR catalyst.
Abstract:
A process is disclosed for checking the operatability of a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst which is used to remove the nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas stream from a lean burn engine and which contains at least a nitrogen oxide storage material, a catalytically active component and optionally an oxygen storage material. The lean burn engine is operated with cyclic alternation of the air/fuel mixture from lean to rich and the nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas are stored by the nitrogen oxide storage material in the presence of lean burn exhaust gas (storage phase) and is desorbed and converted in the presence of rich exhaust gas (regeneration phase). The process is characterised in that, in order to determine possible damage to the catalytically active component, the nitrogen oxide storage capacity of the nitrogen oxide storage catalyst is determined at exhaust gas temperatures which are within the range in which the oxidation of nitrogen monoxide to nitrogen dioxide is kinetically controlled, while no change in the nitrogen oxide storage capacity is detected in the thermodynamically controlled range and, to determine possible damage to the storage materials, the nitrogen oxide capacity of the nitrogen oxide storage catalyst is determined at exhaust gas temperatures which are within the range in which the oxidation of nitrogen monoxide to nitrogen dioxide is thermodynamically controlled.
Abstract:
A method for determining the fullness or the quality of a catalytic converter that stores gases in a storage medium includes the steps of measuring a change in at least one physical property of the storage medium that changes with the storage process, and determining the fullness or the quality of the catalytic converter.
Abstract:
A process for reducing the nitrogen oxides content of the exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine includes treating the exhaust gas in an electric gas discharge such that at least one of nitrogen dioxide or nitric acid are formed from nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas; storing the nitrogen dioxides and/or the nitric acid in the form of nitrates on a nitrogen oxides storage material during phases when the engine operates with a greater than a stoichiometric air/fuel ratio (i.e., the storage phase); decomposing the nitrates to give nitrogen oxides during brief phases when the engine operates with a less than the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio (i.e., the desorption phase); and reducing the nitrogen oxides which are released from the storage material to nitrogen. The nitrogen oxides storage material may be located in an electric gas discharge zone, and the exhaust gas may be passed through the discharge and then over the storage material.
Abstract:
An unburnt gas component such as unburned hydrocarbon (HC) discharged from an internal combustion engine irrespective of an amount of exhaust gas is purified without fail. The unburnt gas component is prevented from being discharged into the atmosphere. In order to attain this, an exhaust gas purifying apparatus for an internal combustion engine according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of exhaust passages connected to the internal combustion engine; a joint exhaust passage formed by merging the exhaust passages; an exhaust gas purifying unit for purifying the exhaust gas that flows through the joint exhaust passage; an adsorption/desorption unit provided in each of the exhaust passages for adsorbing an unburnt gas component contained in the exhaust gas that flows through each of the exhaust passages at a temperature lower than a predetermined temperature and for desorbing the adsorbed unburnt gas component at a temperature equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature; and a desorption/adjustment unit for differentiating timings for desorbing the unburnt gas component by the adsorption/desorption unit.
Abstract:
A new method, system, and apparatus are described for the adsorption and concentration of adsorbable pollutants. The invention allows for simultaneous pollutant adsorption and pollutant concentration. The invention is particularly useful in treating the exhaust of internal combustion engines containing adsorbable pollutants which can be concentrated and then treated to form harmless effluents.
Abstract:
An exhaust after-treatment system for treating an exhaust stream from an internal combustion engine of an automotive vehicle includes first and second exhaust treatment devices in a parallel path, continuous flow, flow rate sensitive exhaust temperature modification circuit for conducting exhaust gases from the first treatment device to the second exhaust treatment device.
Abstract:
A method for the removal of particulate matter contained in exhaust gas from a diesel fuelled engine. The exhaust gas stream is passed over a carrier having supported thereon one or more inorganic compounds which are in the form of a melt or subcooled melt, the particulate matter in the exhaust gas stream on the melt and/or subcooled melt is adsorbed, the combustibles in the adsorbed particulate matter are burned off, and an exhaust gas stream substantially free of particulate matter is withdrawn.
Abstract:
An exhaust poison trap for protection of catalytic converters in automotive exhaust systems includes a tubular housing having open ends and a peripheral wall internally defining an exhaust chamber, a helical wall longitudinally dividing the exhaust chamber into at least two longitudinally extending helical passages for exhaust gas flow and porous means substantially covering the interior of the peripheral wall and forming an outer periphery of each of said helical passages, whereby exhaust gas passing through the exhaust chamber is directed in a helical path through the helical passages, causing particulate matter in the gas to be accelerated outwardly by centrifugal force and trapped in the porous means, thus protecting a downstream catalytic converter from trapped catalyst poisoning particles such as zinc and phosphorous. The porous means may be coated to improve trapping or to aid catalytic reactions in the exhaust gases.
Abstract:
An adsorber for purifying flue gases of a furnace includes a housing having a flue gas inlet and a flue gas outlet. The housing has an adsorption medium chamber. A fill socket extends from the top of the housing. A removal device extends from the bottom of the housing. The chamber includes substantially vertical, gas-permeable walls for delimiting the chamber at the inlet side and at the outlet side. The chamber also includes a vertical gas-permeable partition and a slanted non-gas-permeable wall. The wall at the inlet side is a louver wall extending upwardly to the level of the fill socket. The wall at the outlet side is a slotted screen connected with the slanted, non-gas-permeable wall to the fill socket. The flue gas outlet is located opposite the non-gas-permeable wall.