Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080314030 | Method for Operating a Nitrogen Oxide Storage Catalytic Converter in a Motor Vechicle with Consideration of Regional Fuel Qualities - The fuel qualities for vehicles differ, for example, in Europe on a regional basis. This applies in particular to the sulphur content of the fuel. If vehicles with modern lean engines or with diesel engines which are equipped with nitrogen oxide storage-type catalytic converters in order to reduce the nitrogen oxide content in their exhaust gas pass through regions with a sulphur content in the fuel which is above the sulphur content which is specified for the vehicle, the engine controller will correspondingly frequently initiate desulphurization of the storage-type catalytic converter after the vehicle has been refuelled with this fuel. Any desulphurization entails an increased level of fuel consumption and greater ageing of the catalytic converter. It is proposed to avoid these adverse effects in that in lean motors the engine controller switches to stoichiometric operation in such a case, and in a diesel engine said engine controller prevents the desulphurization. The information about the region in which the vehicle is moving at a particular time can be transmitted to the engine controller by a navigation system. | 12-25-2008 |
20090062117 | Nitrogen oxide storage material and nitrogen oxide storage catalyst produced therefrom - A nitrogen oxide storage material which is based on storage compounds of elements selected from the group consisting of magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, the alkali metals, the rare earth metals and mixtures thereof and has a homogeneous magnesium-aluminium mixed oxide doped with cerium oxide as support material for the storage compounds is described. Nitrogen oxide storage catalysts using this storage material display a broad working range, a high storage efficiency and good ageing resistance. | 03-05-2009 |
20090131243 | METHOD FOR THE REACTIVATION OF THERMALLY AGED NITROGEN OXIDE STORAGE CATALYTIC CONVERTERS - Nitrogen oxide storage catalysts are used for removing the nitrogen oxides present in the lean-burn exhaust gas of lean-burn engines. Here, the purifying action is based on the nitrogen oxides being stored in the form of nitrates by the storage material of the storage catalyst during a lean-burn operating phase of the engine and the previously formed nitrates being decomposed in a subsequent rich-burn operating phase of the engine and the nitrogen oxides which are being liberated again being reacted with the reducing exhaust gas constituents over the storage catalyst to form nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water. Storage catalysts are thermally aged by high temperatures. The aging is due to sintering of the catalytically active noble metal components of the catalyst and to formation of compounds of the storage components with the support materials. According to the invention, the formation of compounds of the storage materials can be largely reversed by treatment of the storage material with a gas mixture comprising nitrogen dioxide and/or carbon dioxide and water vapor at temperatures of from 300 to 500° C. The reactivation can be carried out either directly on the vehicle by setting appropriate exhaust gas conditions or during a routine service by removal of the catalyst from the vehicle and treatment with a gas mixture in an appropriate apparatus. | 05-21-2009 |
20090145112 | Method for Regenerating Nitrogen Oxide Storage Catalysts - Nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converters for purifying the exhaust gas of lean-burn engines are periodically regenerated by switching the engine from lean-burn mode to rich-burn mode. After regeneration has taken place, the engine is switched back to lean-burn mode. At this time, rich exhaust gas is still flowing in the exhaust line from the engine to the catalytic converter, which rich exhaust gas is ejected via the catalytic converter into the environment by the following, lean exhaust gas. This leads to brief emissions peaks of the rich exhaust gas constituents and impairs the level of exhaust gas cleaning which can be obtained. In order to solve said problem, it is proposed to create oxidizing conditions by injecting air upstream of the storage catalytic converter, so that the rich exhaust gas constituents still flowing in the exhaust line upstream of the storage catalytic converter can be converted at the storage catalytic converter to form non-harmful products. The proposed method can lead to a considerable improvement in exhaust gas purification in particular in the case of catalytic converters which are already impaired in terms of their storage capacity through aging, and which must be regenerated significantly more frequently than fresh catalytic converters. | 06-11-2009 |
20090151329 | Method for regeneration a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst - To remove the nitrogen oxides from the exhaust gas from lean-burn engines, these engines are equipped with a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst, which has to be regenerated frequently by the engine being briefly switched to rich-burn mode. The regeneration is usually initiated when the nitrogen oxide concentration downstream of the catalyst rises above a permissible value. In this context, there is a risk of the bed temperature of the catalyst during and after regeneration being pushed into a range with incipient thermal desorption of the nitrogen oxides on account of the heat which is released during the conversion of the nitrogen oxides by the reducing constituents of the exhaust gas. This can lead to increased nitrogen oxide emission both during the regeneration itself and after the engine has been switched back to lean-burn mode. To eliminate this problem, it is proposed to divide the rich-burn mode into two rich pulses which follow one another in time, the first rich pulse being of shorter duration than the second rich pulse. | 06-18-2009 |
20090297415 | Method For Operating A Nitrogen Oxide Storage Catalyst In A Diesel Engine - A nitrogen oxide storage catalytic converter which is operated for a relatively long time at low exhaust-gas temperatures in the range between 120 and 250° C. exhibits a decreasing storage capacity as a result of incomplete regeneration at said temperatures. In order to re-establish the original storage capacity of the catalytic converter which is operated in this way, two-stage regeneration is proposed, wherein the storage catalytic converter is initially partially regenerated at the low exhaust gas temperature by means of a switch from the lean mode to the rich mode, and wherein subsequently, with rich exhaust gas again, the exhaust-gas temperature of the engine is raised into a range of between 300 and 400° C. for complete regeneration. | 12-03-2009 |
20100037597 | EXHAUST EMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM FOR LEAN ENGINES AND METHOD FOR OPERATING THE SYSTEM - An emission control system for the cleaning of the exhaust gases of a lean burn engine with two or more cylinders comprises a first exhaust leg for the exhaust gases of a first group of cylinders and a second exhaust leg for the exhaust gases of a second group of cylinders. A nitrogen oxide storage catalyst is arranged in each exhaust leg. The two exhaust legs are combined downstream of the storage catalysts at a confluence to form a common exhaust leg. The common exhaust leg contains an SCR catalyst. The first and second groups of cylinders are each supplied alternately in periodic intervals with lean and rich air/fuel mixtures. Lean or rich exhaust gases are thus obtained in the combustion in the cylinders and released into the corresponding exhaust legs. Lean and rich exhaust gases are adjusted with respect to one another so as to result in a lean exhaust gas after the combination of the exhaust gases in the common exhaust leg. The regeneration of the storage catalysts may result in the formation of ammonia, which is stored by the SCR catalyst and reacted with nitrogen oxides which pass through the storage catalysts in an unwanted manner during the storage phases. | 02-18-2010 |
20100307136 | Method For Determining The Instant At Which A Nitrogen Oxide Storage Catalyst Is Switched From The Storage Phase To The Regeneration Phase And For Diagnosing The Storage Properties Of This Catalyst - When a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst is being regenerated, the regeneration may be terminated for example as a result of a premature load change in the engine, which can lead to incomplete emptying of the storage catalyst. The residual filling level which remains in the catalyst following an incomplete regeneration of this nature is used as the starting value for calculation of the filling level during the next storage phase. After incomplete regeneration, the nitrogen oxide conversion rate is initially greater than would be expected, on account of the residual filling level. By taking this increased conversion rate into account when calculating the filling level during the storage phase, it is possible to further improve the accuracy of the calculation. | 12-09-2010 |
20110258982 | METHOD FOR THE ON-BOARD REACTIVATION OF THERMALLY AGED NITROGEN OXIDE STORAGE CATALYSTS IN MOTOR VEHICLES HAVING AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE OPERATED PREDOMINANTLY UNDER LEAN CONDITIONS - Nitrogen oxide storage catalysts are used to remove the nitrogen oxides present in the lean exhaust gas of lean-burn engines. Storage catalysts are thermally aged by high temperatures. Ageing is due to sintering of the catalytically active noble metal components of the catalyst and to formation of compounds of the storage components with the support materials. According to the invention, the formation of compounds of the storage materials can be largely reversed by treatment of the storage material with a gas mixture containing carbon dioxide, optionally water vapor and optionally nitrogen oxides at temperatures in the range from 200° C. to 950° C., preferably from 300° C. to 700° C. The reactivation can be carried out under emission-neutral conditions directly in the vehicle during driving operation by setting of suitable exhaust gas conditions and regulating the air/fuel ratio. | 10-27-2011 |
20130280150 | CATALYTICALLY ACTIVE PARTICULATE FILTER AND USE THEREOF - A catalytically active particulate filter is proposed which is suitable for use in an exhaust gas cleaning system for diesel engines. The particulate filter removes diesel soot particles from the exhaust gas and is also effective to oxidise carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons and to convert nitrogen monoxide at least proportionally into nitrogen dioxide. The particulate filter comprises a filter body ( | 10-24-2013 |