CRADA Final Report: Mechanisms of Sulfur Poisoning of NOx Adsorber Materials
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Dept. of Energy (DOE), Washington DC (United States)
- Cummins Inc., Columbus, IN (United States)
- Johnson Matthew Catalyst, Sevierville, TN (United States)
The control of NOx (NO and NO2) emissions from so-called ‘lean-burn’ vehicle engines remains a challenge. The now commercial NOx adsorber (also known as lean-NOx trap (LNT) and NOx storage reduction (NSR) catalyst) technology is based upon the concept of storing NOx as nitrates over storage components, typically alkali or alkaline-earth species such as barium, during a lean-burn operation cycle and then reducing the stored nitrates to N2 during fuel-rich conditions over a precious metal catalyst. In part via this successful five-year CRADA project between PNNL and Cummins Inc. (CRADA PNNL/213), Cummins and the Johnson/Matthey Company commercialized this technology on the 2007 Dodge Ram pickup truck. In particular, this CRADA has focused on problems arising from either or both thermal and SO2 deactivation which were impeding the ability of the technology to meet durability standards. The results obtained in this CRADA have provided an essential understanding of these deactivation processes thereby leading to materials and process improvements that enabled the commercialization effort. The objective of this project has been to identify a clear pathway to robust NOx after-treatment solutions for light-duty diesel engines. The project focussed on understanding and characterizing the NOx storage, release and conversion of existing NOx adsorber materials. The impact of sulfur on these processes was studied, with special attention given to methods of regenerating the catalyst in the presence of sulfur and the effects of these regeneration treatments on long-term catalyst durability. Model catalysts and more fully formulated catalysts were both studied. The goal of this project has been to identify and understand the deactivation mechanisms of LNT materials in order to provide more robust systems for diesel after-treatment systems that will meet the key emission standards for NOx. Furthermore, the project aimed to provide information critical to evaluating used systems to quantify and diagnose the extent of their degradation. This final report briefly highlights many of the technical accomplishments and documents the productivity of the program in terms of external recognition, peer-reviewed scientific publications (10 total), reports (7 total), and presentations (19 total).
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States). Environmental Molecular Sciences Lab. (EMSL)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1334911
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-18195; 17507; 19800; 8391; VT0401000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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