Purification of exhaust gas

Claim 1

An apparatus for purifying exhaust gases from an internal combustion engine containing CO, unburned HC, and NO x components of the type having an outer shell of heat insulated construction enclosing an inner chamber, at least one inlet conduit adapted for connection to the exhaust ports of the engine for introducing exhaust gases to the inner chamber, and an outlet conduit for discharging the resulting purified gases from the chamber, a heat conductive baffle positioned within the inner chamber for dividing the inner chamber into an upstream reduction zone having at least one surface composed of a catalytic material for promoting reduction of the NO x components in the exhaust gases and communicating with the inlet conduit, and a substantially unobstructed downstream thermal, flame-type oxidation zone having an inlet region communicating with the upstream zone and an outlet region communicating with the outlet conduit, and an injection conduit extending through the outer shell and having an outer end adapted for connection to a source of air and an inner end positioned to inject air from said source into the exhaust gases passing from the upstream zone into the downstream zone in sufficient quantity to create an oxygen-rich mixture in the downstream zone, wherein the improvement comprises: the surfaces of the heat conducting baffle that are exposed to the exhaust gases in the upstream and downstream zones being composed of material having dual reducing and oxidizing cataltyic activities for reducing the NO x components of the exhaust gases in the upstream zone and for augmenting the thermal, flame-type oxidation of CO and HC components of the exhaust gases in the interior of the downstream zone by catalytic no-flame oxidation adjacent to the baffle surface, thereby increasing the amount of CO and HC components that are oxidized in the downstream zone and thus increasing the heat generated by the oxidizing reactions in the downstream zone, this additional heat being transferred through the baffle to increase the catalytic reducing reaction in the upstream zone and to shorten the warmup time.

Claim 2

An apparatus for purifying exhaust gases from an internal combustion engine containing CO, unburned HC, and NO x components of the type having an outer shell of heat insulated construction enclosing an inner chamber, at least one inlet conduit adapted for connection to the exhaust ports of the engine for introducing exhaust gases to the inner chamber, and an outlet conduit for discharging the resulting purified gases from the chamber, a heat conductive baffle positioned within the inner chamber for dividing the inner chamber into an upstream reduction zone having at least one surface composed of a catalytic material for promoting reduction of the NO x components in the exhaust gases and communicating with the inlet conduit, and a substantially unobstructed downstream thermal, flame-type oxidation zone having an inlet region communicating with the upstream zone and an outlet region communicating with the outlet conduit, and an injection conduit extending through the outer shell and having an outer end adapted for connection to a source of air and an inner end positioned to inject air from said source into the exhaust gases passing from the upstream zone into the downstream zone in sufficient quantity to create an oxygen-rich mixture in the downstream zone, wherein the improvement comprises: the surfaces of the heat conducting baffle that are exposed to the exhaust gases in the upstream and downstream zones being composed of material having dual reducing and oxidizing cataltyic activities for reducing the NO x components of the exhaust gases in the upstream zone and for augmenting the thermal, flame-type oxidation of CO and HC components of the exhaust gases in the interior of the downstream zone by catalytic no-flame oxidation adjacent to the baffle surface, thereby increasing the amount of CO and HC components that are oxidized in the downstream zone and thus increasing the heat generated by the oxidizing reactions in the downstream zone, this additional heat being transferred through the baffle to increase the catalytic reducing reaction in the upstream zone and to shorten the warmup time.

Claim 6

A method of purifying exhaust gases containing CO, unburned HC, and NO x components of the type that includes the successive steps of feeding a rich reducing mixture of hot exhaust gases into an upstream zone in a heat insulated chamber, the upstream zone including exposed surfaces composed of an alloy with reducing catalytic properties, the temperature in the upstream zone being high enough to cause catalytic reduction of the NO x components in the exhaust gases; passing the resultant gases from the upstream zone to a substantially unobstructed downstream zone in the chamber on the other side of a heat conductive wall separating the upstream and downstream zones; and adding air to the resultant gases as they enter the downstream zone in an amount sufficient to form a rich oxidizing gas mixture to cause thermal flame-type oxidation of the CO and unburned HC components in the downstream zone, wherein the improvement comprises: providing the heat conductive wall with surfaces composed of a catalytic material having dual reducing and oxidizing properties so that the thermal oxidation of CO and HC in the downstream zone will be augmented by catalytic oxidation adjacent to said wall in the downstream zone, thereby increasing the amounts of CO and HC that are oxidized and, because the additional heat of the catalytic oxidation reaction being transmitted through the heat conductive wall to the upstream zone increases the temperature of the reduction zone catalyst, increasing also the amount of NO x reduced in the upstream zone.

Claim 7

A method of purifying exhaust gases containing CO, unburned HC, and NO x components of the type that includes the successive steps of feeding a rich reducing mixture of hot exhaust gases into an upstream zone in a heat insulated chamber, the upstream zone including exposed surfaces composed of an alloy with reducing catalytic properties, the temperature in the upstream zone being high enough to cause catalytic reduction of the NO x components in the exhaust gases; passing the resultant gases from the upstream zone to a substantially unobstructed downstream zone in the chamber on the other side of a heat conductive wall separating the upstream and downstream zones; and adding air to the resultant gases as they enter the downstream zone in an amount sufficient to form a rich oxidizing gas mixture to cause thermal flame-type oxidation of the CO and unburned HC components in the downstream zone, wherein the improvement comprises: providing the heat conductive wall with surfaces composed of a catalytic material having dual reducing and oxidizing properties so that the thermal oxidation of CO and HC in the downstream zone will be augmented by catalytic oxidation adjacent to said wall in the downstream zone, thereby increasing the amounts of CO and HC that are oxidized and, because the additional heat of the catalytic oxidation reaction being transmitted through the heat conductive wall to the upstream zone increases the temperature of the reduction zone catalyst, increasing also the amount of NO x reduced in the upstream zone.