The effect of cordierite/Pt catalyst on the NOx reduction in a diesel and Jatropha bio-diesel operated single cylinder engine

Abstract

Bio-diesel is an alternative energy resource, which can be successfully used in diesel engines. One major disadvantage of using bio-diesel is the higher emission of NO<inf>x</inf>. Hence some after treatment devices have to be adopted to reduce NO<inf>x</inf> in order to meet the stringent limits on emission standards. In the current research work honeycomb structured circular Cordierite/Pt SCR catalyst is used as an aftertreatment device. Studies revealed that SCR (Selective catalytic reduction) catalyst exhibits better performance at a higher temperature range (>500 °C), which can be successfully used in Trucks and Buses. But many catalysts failed to exhibit better performance at a lower temperature range varies from 180 to 400 °C, which makes these catalysts unsuitable to use with light and medium duty vehicles. The main objective of this study is to assess the suitability of Cordierite/Pt catalyst for light and medium duty vehicles and study the effect of SCR catalyst on bio-diesel blends in order to reduce NO<inf>x</inf> in a single cylinder diesel engine. The experimental work has been carried out using diesel and bio-diesel as a fuel and the NO<inf>x</inf> reduction is tabulated. The results are validated with CFD code AVL FIRE. The ammonia flow rate has been varied from 0.2 to 0.8 kg/h. It has been found that among all the blends B15 has shown maximum NO<inf>x</inf> conversion of 60% and NH<inf>3</inf> conversion of 34%. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.