Umicore Ag & Co Kg

Degussa - Huls Ag

Ulrich Göbel

Rainer Domesle

Egbert Lox

Wolfgang Strehlau

Lutz Marc Ruwisch

Juliane Kluge

Juliane Theis

Wilfried Muller

The invention relates to a catalyst for lowering the amount of NOin the lean exhaust gas from lean burn engines, comprising active aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide and at least one noble metal of the platinum group of the periodic table of the elements, as well as at least one nitrogen oxide storage material. The catalyst is characterized in that the magnesium oxide forms a homogeneous mixed oxide with aluminum oxide and is present in a concentration of about 1 to about 40 wt.-%, based on the total weight of the mixed oxide.

Catalyst for lowering the amount of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas from lean burn engines

A process is disclosed for operating an exhaust gas treatment unit for an internal combustion engine which is operated with lean normalized air/fuel ratios over most of the operating period. The exhaust gas treatment unit contains a nitrogen oxides storage catalyst with an activity window .DELTA.T.sub.NOX for the storage of nitrogen oxides at normalized air/fuel ratios of greater than 1 and release of the nitrogen oxides at normalized air/fuel ratios of less than or equal to 1 and a sulfur trap, located upstream of the nitrogen oxides storage catalyst, with a sulfur desorption temperature T.sub.S,DeSOx above which the sulfates stored on the sulfur trap are decomposed at normalized air/fuel ratios of less than or equal to 1. The nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas are stored on the nitrogen oxides storage catalyst and the sulfur oxides are stored on the sulfur trap at normalized air/fuel ratios greater than 1 and exhaust gas temperatures T.sub.K within the activity window T.sub.NOX, wherein at the same time the exhaust gas temperature just upstream of the sulfur trap is lower than its sulfur desorption temperature T.sub.S,DeSOx. By cyclic lowering of the normalized air/fuel ratio in the exhaust gas to less than 1 the stored nitrogen oxides are released again from the storage catalyst. After each predetermined number N.sub.1 of nitrogen oxides storage cycles, sulfur is removed from the sulfur trap. This takes place by raising the exhaust gas temperature just upstream of the sulfur trap to above its sulfur desorption temperature T.sub.S,DeSOx and also lowering the normalized air/fuel ratio in the exhaust gas to less than 1.

Process for operating an exhaust gas treatment unit containing a sulfur

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Hattersheim, Germany

Ulrich Göbel