The Co-Optimization of fuels and engines “Co-Optima” initiative aims to simultaneously develop novel high-performance fuels along with highly efficient engines to reduce petroleum consumption. For commercialization, the novel fuels operating on the advanced engines must meet the stringent emissions regulations. At elevated temperatures, commercial three-way catalysts (TWC) are very effective at meeting the emissions regulations on pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), non-methane organic gases (NMOG) and carbon monoxide (CO) from gasoline fueled spark-ignition (SI) engines operating under stoichiometric conditions. However, during cold-start operations, NOx, NMOG and CO can escape from the vehicle exhaust. Cold-start compliance, which is dependent on the fuel composition, is essential for meeting the stringent emissions regulations. Thus, for commercialization, an advanced engine running on a novel fuel should be compatible with the emissions control technology.<br/> <br/>In the current study, a commercial dual-zone three-way catalyst has been hydrothermally aged as per industry guidelines. A synthetic exhaust flow-reactor has been used to measure the light-off temperatures of a wide range of fuels as per protocol set by industry. The light-off data was then analyzed using a kinetic model to approximate the rates of reactions observed for different fuel additives, such as alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, ketones, esters, and non-oxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons. Each additive may have a different NMOG conversion rate and may also inhibit the light-off of CO and NOx. Quantification of that inhibition impact can then be used to predict how a fuel mixture of various additives may change the overall light-off characteristics of the blend. This understanding is critical to selecting fuel components that maximize engine efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts of emissions.

Modeling analysis of three-way catalyst reactivity: Novel high-performance fuel additives for SI engine emissions control

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.