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US5185305A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Catalyst system for treating the exhaust from a lean-burn gasoline-fueled engine

Assignee: Ford Motor Co
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Filing: 1991-11-08
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Granted: 1993-02-09
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Expires: 2011-11-08
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Abstract

Abstract A catalyst system for converting NO x , CO, and HC contained in the exhaust gas from a gasoline-fueled engine controlled to operate under lean-burn conditions (R=0.03-0.9) such that the a ratio of NO x to HC in the exhaust gas in in the range of 1/3 to 3/1 (i.e., minimum C 3 H 6 of 250 ppm and NO x of 200-400 ppm). The system comprises a first stage catalyst containing a transition metal-exchanged zeolite (i.e., Cu-ZSM5), and a three-way catalyst for treating the effluent from said first stage catalyst. The second stage catalyst consists of a high surface area alumina support impregnated with an intimate mixture of 0.5-20% lanthana, 0.2-30% palladium, and advantageously an outer washcoat TiO 2 . A method of treating the exhaust gas from a fossil-fueled engine comprising operating the engine under lean-burn conditions while controlling the emission ratio of NO x /hydrocarbon to be in the range of 1/3 to 3/1; exposing the exhaust gas to a first stage catalyst comprising a copper ion-exchanged ZSM5 zeolite having at least 3% by weight copper; and exposing the effluent from said first stage catalyst to a second stage catalyst comprising an alumina support impregnated with an intimate mixture of 0.5-20% lanthana and 2-30% palladium.

Inventors

  • 👤 Somasundaram Subramanian
  • 👤 Mohinder S. Chattha

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-05 04:06
CPC Classifications
B; B01; B01D; B01D53/00; B01D53/34; B01D53/92; B01D53/94; B01D53/9445; B01D53/945; B01J; B01J23/00; B01J23/38; B01J23/54; B01J23/56; B01J23/63; B01J35/00; B01J35/19; Y; Y02; Y02T; Y02T10/00; Y02T10/10; Y02T10/12

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim 99 words
A catalyst system for converting NO x , CO, and HC contained in the exhaust gas from a gasoline-fueled engine controlled to operate under lean-burn conditions such that the ratio of NO x to HC in the exhaust is in the range of 1/3 to 3/1, the system comprising: (a) a first stage catalyst comprising a transition metal-containing zeolite for treating lean-burn exhaust gases; and (b) a three-way catalyst for treating, in series only, the effluent from said first stage catalyst comprising a high surface area alumina support impregnated with an intimate mixture of 0.5-20% lanthana and 0.2-30% palladium.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 99 words
A catalyst system for converting NO x , CO, and HC contained in the exhaust gas from a gasoline-fueled engine controlled to operate under lean-burn conditions such that the ratio of NO x to HC in the exhaust is in the range of 1/3 to 3/1, the system comprising: (a) a first stage catalyst comprising a transition metal-containing zeolite for treating lean-burn exhaust gases; and (b) a three-way catalyst for treating, in series only, the effluent from said first stage catalyst comprising a high surface area alumina support impregnated with an intimate mixture of 0.5-20% lanthana and 0.2-30% palladium.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 28 words
The catalyst system as in claim 1, in which said lanthana and palladium reside discontinuously on said support so that each may be exposed to the exhaust gas.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 36 words
The catalyst system as in claim 1, in which said second stage catalyst additionally comprises an outer washcoat consisting of titanium oxide, said additional element being useful when exhaust has a redox ratio of 0.8-0.9 R.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 31 words
The catalyst system as in claim 1, in which said second stage catalyst additionally comprises a stabilizing washcoat on said support selected from oxides of nickel, cerium, barium, lanthanum, and titanium.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 21 words
The catalyst system as in claim 4, in which said stabilizing washcoat has a thickness in the range of 0.005-0.1 mm.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 27 words
The catalyst system as in claim 1, in which said alumina is predominantly gamma alumina having a surface area in the range of 50-400 m 2 /g.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 64 words
The catalyst system as in claim 1, in which the exhaust gas content emitted by said engine has a NO x content in the range of 200-400 ppm, said lower NO x content being achieved by lowering exhaust temperature through use of suitable engine design variables such as compression ratio, spark timing, valve timing, and by employing strategies such as Exhaust Gas Recycle (EGR).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 24 words
The catalyst system as in claim 1, in which the C 3 H 6 content of said exhaust gas is at least 250 ppm.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 35 words
The catalyst system as in claim 1, in which said C 3 H 6 content of the exhaust is at least 250 ppm and the NO x content is in the range of 200-400 ppm.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US4331644A Cited
US4791091A Cited
US4934142A Cited
JPH02233145A Cited
US5063192A Cited
US5021389A Cited
US5051244A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1996-02-09 1996-08-10 1997-02-09 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 2000-02-09 2000-08-10 2001-02-09 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2004-02-09 2004-08-10 2005-02-09 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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