Atomic layer deposition of silica to improve the high-temperature hydrothermal stability of Cu-SSZ-13 for NH3 SCR of NOx

Adaptive time-step unscented kalman filtering (ATS-UKF) based observer design for urea selective catalytic reduction (SCR) performance of diesel engines

To reduce the number of sensors in the SCR catalyst, state feedback and fault diagnosis information are provided. Firstly, a model based on the coupling of flow, heat transfer, and gas-solid phase catalytic reaction in the SCR system is investigated in this paper. The parabolic partial differential equations are simplified by the variable substitution method and the method of lines approach (MOL). The simplified system of equations is solved by backward differentiation formulas (BDF) with adaptive adjustment time step strategy. Meanwhile, the chemical reaction parameters are accurately calibrated per second using the Levenberg-Marquardt method. Secondly, the ATS-UKF is designed in this paper, and to ensure the synchronisation between the ATS-UKF and the SCR model calculations, the time step of solving the BDF by the SCR model is taken as the time step of propagating the sigma points. Two observation scenarios are assumed: (1) no downstream NH3 concentration sensor, ammonia coverage and downstream NH3 concentration are observed by ATS-UKF; (2) no downstream NOx sensor, ammonia coverage and downstream NOx concentration are observed by ATS-UKF. Finally, the paper carries out bench tests. In the first case, the ammonia coverage obtained by the ATS-UKF reached 0.99 with respect to the model-calculated value R². The mean absolute error (MAE) between the observed and experimental values of the ATS-UKF for the downstream NH3 concentration was 2.76 ppm. In the second case, the ammonia coverage obtained by the ATS-UKF reached 0.99 with respect to the model-calculated value R², and the MAE between the observed and experimental values of the ATS-UKF for the downstream NOx concentration was 1.53 ppm. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: The Adaptive Time-Step Unscented Kalman Filtering (ATS-UKF) enhances urea Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) in diesel engines, improving environmental outcomes. This method minimizes sensor dependence, enabling more precise SCR system management and effective emission reduction. By advancing emission control technologies, ATS-UKF contributes to global air pollution mitigation efforts, supporting cleaner air and environmental sustainability. Its innovative approach in monitoring and predicting SCR performance marks a significant step towards eco-friendly diesel engine operation.

Coaxial 3D Printing of Zeolite-Based Core-Shell Monolithic Cu-SSZ-13@SiO2 Catalysts for Diesel Exhaust Treatment

Core-shell catalysts with functional shells can increase the activity and stability of the catalysts in selective catalytic reduction of NOx with ammoniax. However, the conventional approaches based on multistep fabrication for core-shell structures encounter persistent restrictions regarding strict synthesis conditions and limited design flexibility. Herein, a facile coaxial 3D printing strategy is for the first time developed to construct zeolite-based core-shell monolithic catalysts with interconnected honeycomb structures, in which the hydrophilic noncompact silica serves as shell and Cu-SSZ-13 zeolite acts as core. Compared to a Cu-SSZ-13 monolith which suffers from the interfacial diffusion, the SiO2 shell layer can increase the accessibility of active sites over Cu-SSZ-13@SiO2, resulting in a 10-20% higher NO conversion at200-550 °C under 300 000 cm3 g-1 h-1. Meanwhile, a thicker SiO2 shell enhances the hydrothermal stability of the aged catalyst by inhibiting the dealumination and the formation of CuOx. Other representative monolithic catalysts with different topological zeolites as shell and diverse metal oxides as the core can be also realized by this coaxial 3D printing. This strategy allows multiple porous materials to be directly integrated, which allows for flexible design and fabrication of various core-shell monolithic catalysts with customized functionalities.

Boosting the catalytic performance of Cu-SAPO-34 in NOx removal via hydrothermal treatment

Phosphate ions promoted Cu-SAPO-34 (P-Cu-SAPO-34) were prepared using bulk CuO particles as Cu2+ precursor by a solid-state ion exchange technique for the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with NH3 (NH3-SCR). The effects of high temperature (H-T) hydrothermal aging on the NOx removal (de-NOx) performance of Cu-SAPO-34 with and without phosphate ions were systematically investigated at atomic level. The results displayed that both Cu-SAPO-34 and P-Cu-SAPO-34 presented relatively poor NOx removal activity with a low conversion (< 30%) at 250-500°C. However, after H-T hydrothermal treatment (800°C for 10 hr at 10% H2O), these two samples showed significantly satisfied NOx elimination performance with a quite high conversion (70%-90%) at 250-500°C. Additionally, phosphate ions decoration can further enhance the catalytic performance of Cu-SAPO-34 after hydrothermal treatment (Cu-SAPO-34H). The textural properties, morphologies, structural feature, acidity, redox characteristic, and surface-active species of the fresh and hydrothermally aged samples were analyzed using various characterization methods. The systematical characterization results revealed that increases of 28% of the isolated Cu2+ active species (Cu2+-2Z, Cu (OH)+-Z) mainly from bulk CuO and 50% of the Brønsted acid sites, the high dispersion of isolated Cu2+ active component as well as the Brønsted acid sites were mainly responsible for the accepted catalytic activity of these two hydrothermally aged samples, especially for P-Cu-SAPO-34H.

Study on the Performance of the Zr-Modified Cu-SSZ-13 Catalyst for Low-Temperature NH3-SCR

Cu-SSZ-13 and Zr-modified Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts with different Zr/Cu mass ratios were prepared by ion-exchange and impregnation methods, respectively. The NH₃-SCR performance tests were performed using the catalyst performance evaluation device to investigate the effects of different Zr/Cu mass ratios on the catalyst ammonia-selective catalytic reduction (NH₃-SCR) performance. X-ray diffraction, ICP-OES, BET, NH₃ temperature-programed desorption (NH₃-TPD), H₂ temperature-programmed reduction (H₂-TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectrometry, and in situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (in situ DRIFTS) were used to characterize the catalysts. The results show that the prepared Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst had good catalytic activity. Zr introduction was carried out on this basis. The results showed that proper Zr doping improved the catalytic activity at low temperatures and widened the high-temperature stage, with an optimal activity stage at a Zr/Cu mass ratio of 0.2. The NO _x conversion efficiency was close to 100% at 200 °C and over 80% at 450 °C. The active species were well dispersed on the catalyst surface, and the metal modification did not change the crystal structure of the zeolite. The NH₃-TPD results showed that the Zr-modified catalyst had more abundant acid sites, and the H₂-TPR results indicated that the Cu species on the catalyst had excellent reducibility at low temperatures. The interaction between Cu and Zr could regulate the Cu⁺ and Cu²⁺ proportion on the catalyst surface, which facilitated the increase in the Cu⁺ for fast SCR reaction at low temperatures. With abundant acid sites and both SCR reactions following the Eley-Rideal (E-R) and Langmuir-Hinshelwood (L-H) mechanism on the catalyst surface at a low temperature of 150 °C, more abundant acid sites and reaction paths created favorable conditions for NH₃-SCR reactions at low temperatures.

Recent progress in performance optimization of Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst for selective catalytic reduction of NOx

Nitrogen oxides (NO_x), which are the major gaseous pollutants emitted by mobile sources, especially diesel engines, contribute to many environmental issues and harm human health. Selective catalytic reduction of NO_x with NH₃ (NH₃-SCR) is proved to be one of the most efficient techniques for reducing NO_x emission. Recently, Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst has been recognized as a promising candidate for NH₃-SCR catalyst for reducing diesel engine NO_x emissions due to its wide active temperature window and excellent hydrothermal stability. Despite being commercialized as an advanced selective catalytic reduction catalyst, Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst still confronts the challenges of low-temperature activity and hydrothermal aging to meet the increasing demands on catalytic performance and lifetime. Therefore, numerous studies have been dedicated to the improvement of NH₃-SCR performance for Cu-SSZ-13 catalyst. In this review, the recent progress in NH₃-SCR performance optimization of Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts is summarized following three aspects: 1) modifying the Cu active sites; 2) introducing the heteroatoms or metal oxides; 3) regulating the morphology. Meanwhile, future perspectives and opportunities of Cu-SSZ-13 catalysts in reducing diesel engine NO_x emissions are discussed.

Enhanced Stability and Catalytic Performance of Active Rh Sites on Al2O3 Via Atomic Layer Deposited ZrO2

Modulating the Rh active sites on surfaces of Al₂O₃ is crucial to developing effective three-way catalysts. Herein, an ultralow amount of ZrO₂ (0.0179%) was deposited onto Al₂O₃ nanorods via atomic layer deposition (ALD) to form a catalyst with both thermal stability and low-temperature activity. The results demonstrate that the ALD-ZrO₂ is conducive to improve the catalytic activity of the Rh site and inhibit the formation of irreducible Rh species at high temperature. The obtained catalysts show satisfactory performance for a model NO-CO reaction even after thermal aging at 1050 °C. This strategy shows that a molecularly precise synthesis can lead to the robust promotion of Rh activity under low temperature and provide a promising path toward reducing the deactivation of catalysts at high temperature.