Nanocomposites for nitrogen oxide emissions control in lean-burn engines

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 2004.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pitukmanorom, Pemakorn, 1976-
Other Authors: Jackie Y. Ying.
Format: Thesis
Language:en_US
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2005
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28848
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author Pitukmanorom, Pemakorn, 1976-
author2 Jackie Y. Ying.
author_facet Jackie Y. Ying.
Pitukmanorom, Pemakorn, 1976-
author_sort Pitukmanorom, Pemakorn, 1976-
collection MIT
description Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 2004.
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spelling mit-1721.1/288482019-04-12T13:50:37Z Nanocomposites for nitrogen oxide emissions control in lean-burn engines Pitukmanorom, Pemakorn, 1976- Jackie Y. Ying. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Chemical Engineering. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, 2004. Includes bibliographical references. (cont.) reducing agent than propane in the SCR of NO. Pt-Rh/CuO/A1₂O₃ nanocomposites capable of adsorbing SO₂ in oxygen-rich environment as metal sulfates and releasing SO₂ in reducing atmosphere were synthesized with sequential precipitation technique. These CuO-based sorbents possessed excellent SO₂ adsorption capacity and superior regenerability by CO compared to those produced by the impregnation method due to higher surface area and dispersion of Cu species. A gram of sorbent with 30 wt% Cu could adsorb over 50 mg of SO2 before SO₂ breakthrough was observed. The rate of SO₂ desorption from the CuO/A1₂O₃ sorbents could be enhanced through the incorporation of noble metals. With the use of 0.1 wt% Pt, the CuO/A1₂O₃ sorbent with 30 wt% Cu could be regenerated twice as quickly. Also, on average only 8 ppm of SO₂ were detected downstream of this sorbent over each adsorption cycle at 400⁰C. The excellent sorbent regeneration was attributed to better CO adsorption and lower sulfate decomposition temperature as a result of Pt addition. The nature of sulfur deactivation of these sorbents was highly dependent on the composition of noble metals used. By employing both Rh and Pt, sorbent regeneration rate and stability could be optimized. Rh/CuO-MgO/A1₂O₃ nanocomposites capable of adsorbing NOx and SO₂ in oxygen-rich environment and releasing N₂ and SO₂ in reducing atmosphere were successfully prepared by sequential precipitation ... Over the past few years, increase in environmental concern has led to a demand for more effective pollution control strategies that would satisfy the new EPA standards regarding automotive emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx). In particular, the removal of NOx from lean-burn and diesel engines operating under an oxygen-rich atmosphere presents a significant challenge as conventional three-way catalysts are ineffective in this environment. Moreover, the presence of water vapor and sulfur oxides (SOx) in the exhaust stream both inhibits catalyst activity and results in long-term catalyst instability. Thus, it is necessary to develop novel technologies for the removal of NOx from the exhaust of lean-bum engines. This thesis examined three metal oxide nanocomposite systems to serve as (i) catalysts for the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx by propene, (ii) sorbents for SO₂ storage, and (iii) catalysts for NOx storage-reduction (NSR). In₂O₃-Ga₂O₃/A1₂O₃ nanocomposite catalysts have been synthesized using the sequential precipitation technique. These alumina-based catalysts exhibited superior NO reduction activity to those produced by the impregnation and sol-gel methods due to their higher surface area and dispersion of active components. In fact, an excellent N2 yield of 80% was achieved at 450⁰C over the In₂O₃-Ga₂O₃/A1₂O₃ nanocomposite with 2 wt% In and 8 wt% Ga. The high catalytic activity was attributed to better propene activation by In and improved NOx adsorption on the high surface area Ga₂O₃/A1₂O₃. The In₂O₃-Ga₂O₃/A1₂O₃ nanocomposite remained active even in the presence of SO2. The NO reduction activity of this catalyst system depended on the hydrocarbons that were used as the reducing agents. Propene was found to be a more effective by Pemakorn Pitukmanorom. Ph.D. 2005-09-27T18:40:38Z 2005-09-27T18:40:38Z 2004 2004 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28848 60399118 en_US M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 133 leaves 7588767 bytes 7605802 bytes application/pdf application/pdf application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Chemical Engineering.
Pitukmanorom, Pemakorn, 1976-
Nanocomposites for nitrogen oxide emissions control in lean-burn engines
title Nanocomposites for nitrogen oxide emissions control in lean-burn engines
title_full Nanocomposites for nitrogen oxide emissions control in lean-burn engines
title_fullStr Nanocomposites for nitrogen oxide emissions control in lean-burn engines
title_full_unstemmed Nanocomposites for nitrogen oxide emissions control in lean-burn engines
title_short Nanocomposites for nitrogen oxide emissions control in lean-burn engines
title_sort nanocomposites for nitrogen oxide emissions control in lean burn engines
topic Chemical Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/28848
work_keys_str_mv AT pitukmanorompemakorn1976 nanocompositesfornitrogenoxideemissionscontrolinleanburnengines