Process for the Reduction of the Ignition Temperature of Diesel Soot

Diesel engines enjoy an advantage over gasoline engines in that the diesel engines are much more fuel efficient than gasoline engines. It is well known that the gaseous waste products, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, from gasoline engines pose a serious health problem to the population at large. In addition to these gaseous pollutants, diesel engines also emit "soot" particles comprising carbonaceous solids containing adsorbed hydrocarbons and inorganic compounds or very fine droplets of condensate or a conglomerate of the two "particulates". The "particulates" referred to herein as "diesel soot" are particularly rich in condensed polynuclear hydrocarbons, some of which have been found to be carcinogenic. Owing to these factors, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated strict standards to minimize the discharge of diesel soot from automotive sources into the atmosphere. Additionally, California also has enacted regulations regarding emission of diesel soot from stationary sources.

Several approaches have been proposed to try to solve the diesel emission problem. Among these are: (1) electrostatic precipitators; (2) paper filters; (3) ceramic filters; (4) metal mesh filters; and (5) engine modifications. Electrostatic precipitators are too bulky and require too much energy to operate and are therefore impractical. Similarly, paper filters require frequent replacement and are extremely bulky. Engine modifications are capable of reducing the soot emissions, but not to the point where all vehicles can meet all the emission standards. The reason for this is that modifications which reduce the soot emissions generally increase the nitrogen oxides emissions or reduce the practical operation of the engine.

Ceramic and metallic filters have proven to be the best technology available to deal with this problem. The literature also shows that ceramic filters are preferred over metallic filters because the ceramic filters are apparently more durable. Ceramic filters have been described in the prior art and can be divided into two categories: (1) foam type and (2) honeycomb wall-flow type. Ceramic foam filters have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,905 and Society of Automotive Engineering Paper #830082. This type of filter is prepared by depositing a ceramic material onto an organic sponge and sintering said sponge at a high temperature to burn out the organic sponge material.

The honeycomb wall-flow type filters are very similar to the honeycomb substrates used as catalyst structural supports for gasoline engine pollution control applications, except that alternate flow channels are closed on each face of the substrate. The channels are plugged in such a manner that a channel open on one face is closed at the opposite face. Such filters are called "wall-flow filters" because the exhaust flows down a channel and must go through the walls of the channel which are macroporous in order to exit. These filters are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,329,162, 4,340,403, 4,364,760 and 4,423,090. These wall-flow filters have been used more extensively than the foam filters because the wall-flow filters more efficiently trap the diesel soot.

The biggest drawback to these filters is that the diesel soot accumulates, clogging the filter, thereby causing an undesirable backpressure on the engine. The reason for this accumulation is that diesel soot ignites at about 650.degree. C., but the maximum exhaust temperature in a diesel vehicle is only about 300.degree.-400.degree. C. Therefore, the diesel soot continues to build up and causes excessive back pressure on the engine which results in a decrease in fuel economy and eventually may cause damage to the engine. To alleviate this problem, the diesel soot must be burned off.

There are two ways known in the art to burn or ignite the diesel soot collected on these filter traps. First, an external means of heat can be applied to the filter so that the temperature of the filter is raised high enough to initiate soot combustion. Second, the filter can be coated with a catalytic element that will lower the required combustion temperature of the diesel soot.

The first approach has many disadvantages including: (1) reduction of fuel economy; (2) complexity of the control system; and (3) reliability of the overall system. In contrast, the second approach is much simpler and more reliable. The major problem with the second approach is developing a catalytic composite which lowers the ignition temperature of the diesel soot so that combustion of the diesel soot occurs during normal operating conditions.

In addition to igniting the diesel soot, most catalytic composites will also convert the sulfur oxides in the exhaust to sulfates or sulfuric acid. Although this problem is present in gasoline powered engines, it is particularly troublesome in diesel applications for two reasons. First, diesel fuel typically contains at least ten times more sulfur compounds than gasoline fuel. Second, the low temperature of the diesel exhaust facilitates the production and storage of sulfates and sulfuric acid which contribute to the particulate emissions during high temperature modes, like regenerations.

It is recognized that noble metals, especially platinum, can oxidize both gaseous hydrocarbon and soot particles. Additionally, platinum promotes the conversion of sulfur oxides to sulfates. U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,289 claims to solve this problem by adding large amounts of vanadium oxide (V.sub.2 O.sub.5) to minimize the sulfate formation.

The prior art teaches that platinum is not a preferred metal for combusting diesel soot unless a promoter is used. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,289 and references therein. Additionally, other patents teach that platinum should be used only for converting the gaseous hydrocarbon and other elements such as chromium, silver, etc. are best for igniting the soot. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,552 teaches the use of platinum and a bulk component selected from the group consisting of an element of the first transition series, silver and hafnium deposited on an inorganic oxide, preferably alumina.

Further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,515,758 and 4,588,707 teach the use of rhenium plus substances such as lithium oxide, copper chloride, vanadium oxide and optionally a noble metal. Again the noble metal is used only for treating the gaseous emissions. These patents also teach that the soot burning elements, i.e. rhenium, lithium oxide, etc. are deposited on an inorganic oxide support such as alumina, titania, etc.

It is also known that supports such as titania or zirconia have sulfur resistant properties. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,613. However, none of the patents cited teach the use of a composite comprising platinum or other noble metals on titania to reduce the ignition temperature of diesel soot.

The present invention provides a process to reduce the ignition temperature of diesel soot comprising contacting a hot exhaust from a diesel engine with a catalytic composite comprising a particulate filter having deposited thereon a sulfur resistant refractory inorganic oxide such as titania, zirconia, etc. and dispersing on said oxide at least one catalytic element selected from the group consisting of Pt, Pd and Rh. The present invention shows unexpected results in lowering the ignition temperature of diesel soot.

This invention relates to a process for reducing the ignition temperature of diesel soot in a hot exhaust from an internal combustion diesel engine comprising contacting said exhaust with a catalytic composite comprising a particulate filter having deposited thereon at least one sulfur resistant refractory inorganic oxide selected from the group consisting of titania, zirconia, silica, silica-alumina, alumina treated with titania, alumina treated with tungsten oxide, and alumina treated with zirconia, having deposited thereon at least one catalytic element or compound selected from the group consisting of Pt, Pd and Rh.

Accordingly, one specific embodiment of the invention comprises a process for reducing the ignition temperature of diesel soot in an exhaust gas from a diesel engine, said exhaust gas containing at least carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, soot particles and sulfur oxides. The process comprises contacting said exhaust with a catalytic composite comprising a ceramic honeycomb wall-flow filter coated with a layer of a titania support and having dispersed thereon a platinum component.

Other objects and embodiments will become more apparent after a more detailed description of the invention.

As heretofore indicated, the present invention relates to a process for reducing the ignition temperature of diesel soot in the hot exhaust from a diesel engine. The process comprises contacting the hot exhaust with a catalytic composite comprising a particulate filter coated with at least one sulfur resistant refractory inorganic oxide support selected from the group consisting of titania, zirconia, silica, silica-alumina and aluminas treated to improve sulfur resistance, such as alumina treated wtih titania, tungsten oxide, zirconia, etc. and having dispersed thereon at least one catalytic element or compound selected from the group consisting of Pt, Pd and Rh.

The inorganic refractory oxide and the catalytic element may be deposited on several types of particulate filters. These filters include metallic and ceramic particulate filters. As described earlier in this specification, ceramic filters can be divided into two categories; (1) foam type and (2) honeycomb wall-flow type being preferred.

When ceramic filters are employed, it is important that the ceramic material be inert and therefore unreactive with the refractory inorganic oxide coating and with the gas to which it is exposed. Examples of suitable ceramic materials include sillimanite, petalite, cordierite, mullite, zircon, zircon mullite, spodumene, alumina, alumina-titanate, etc.

The desired ceramic or metallic particulate filter can be washcoated using a slurry or dispersion of one or more sulfur resistant refractory inorganic oxides. The preparation of slurries and methods of washcoating a filter element with a slurry are well known in the art. For example, the appropriate amount of oxide is combined with water and an acid such as nitric, hydrochloric, sulfuric acid, etc. The resultant slurry is milled for 2 to 6 hours and then used to deposit a thin film or washcoat onto a filter substrate. The quantity of washcoat to be applied to a filter element is less critical with regard to the lower limit than with regard to the upper limit. Generally a minimum amount will be when the filter element contains about 0.20 grams of washcoat per cubic inch of filter volume. The upper range is limited by the maximum permissible backpressure which the filter exerts on the diesel engine. Accordingly, an appropriate range is from about 0.2 g/in.sup.3 to about 3.5 g/in.sup.3 with a preferred range being from about 0.8 g/in.sup.3 to about 2.5 g/in.sup.3.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention titania is used as the inorganic oxide support. The titania support has a specific surface area ranging from about 1 to about 200 m.sup.2 /g and more preferably ranges from about 25 to about 100 m.sup.2 /g. A slurry can be prepared by combining the appropriate amount of titania with water and nitric acid. The resultant slurry is milled for 2 to 6 hours and used to deposit a thin film or washcoat of titania on the filter element. It is preferred that the washcoat deposit be present on the filter element in an amount in the range from about 0.8 g/in.sup.3 to about 2.5 g/in.sup.3.

The catalytic element can be dispersed onto a sulfur resistant refractory inorganic support by conventional methods found in the prior art. One method involves impregnating the filter element which has been coated with a sulfur resistant refractory inorganic oxide with a water soluble decomposable compound of the appropriate catalytic element, calcining the resultant impregnated filter element at a temperature of about 350.degree. to about 650.degree. C., optionally reducing the catalytic element with a reducing agent well known in the art and recovering the resultant catalytic composite. Alternatively the sulfur resistant refractory inorganic oxide can first be impregnated with a water soluble decomposable compound of the appropriate catalytic element, the resultant mixture calcined at a temperature of about 350.degree. to about 650.degree. C. in air, optionally reducing the dispersed catalytic element with a reducing agent known in the art, preparing a slurry from the resultant catalytically active oxide support and depositing said support onto a filter element. It is to be noted, however, that the two methods of preparation do not give equivalent results.

For example, a filter element that has been coated with a titania washcoat is impregnated with an aqueous solution of chloroplatinic acid. Subsequently, the impregnated filter element is dried and calcined at a temperature of about 450.degree. to about 550.degree. C. in air. Other water soluble platinum compounds or complexes may be employed to prepare the impregnation solutions. These include ammonium chloroplatinate, bromoplatinic acid, platinum trichloride, platinum tetrachloride hydrate, platinum dischlorocarbonyl dichloride, dinitrodiamino platinum, sodium tetranitroplatinate.

Utilization of a platinum compound such as chloroplatinic acid is ordinarily preferred. Hydrogen chloride, nitric acid or other suitable materials may be added to the solution in order to further facilitate the uniform distribution of the metallic components through the titania support material. The platinum metal is present in an amount from about 5 to about 250 g of platinum per cubic foot of volume particulate filter.

If a palladium component is desired, the palladium component may be impregnated by utilizing an aqueous solution of chloropalladic acid. Other water soluble compounds or complexes of palladium may be employed such as palladium chloride, palladium nitrate, palladium dioxide, diamminopalladium hydroxide, and tetramminepalladium chloride. The palladium is present in an amount from about 5 to about 250 g of palladium per cubic foot of volume of particulate filter.

Alternatively, if a rhodium component is desired, the rhodium component may be impregnated by utilizing an aqueous solution of rhodium trichloride. Other water soluble compounds or complexes of rhodium may be employed such as hexamminerhodium chloride, rhodium carbonylchloride, rhodium trichloride hydrate, rhodium nitrate, sodium hexachlororhodate, and sodium hexanitrorhodate. The rhodium is present in an amount from about 2 to about 70 g of rhodium per cubic foot of volume of particulate filter.

The essential feature of the present invention is the combination of a sulfur resistant refractory oxide support and a noble metal catalytic element. Diesel fuel contains large amounts of sulfur compounds which are converted to sulfur oxides during the combustion process. Since a diesel exhaust environment virtually always contains excess oxygen, compounds such as sulfur dioxide (SO.sub.2) can react with the oxygen over the catalyst to yield sulfites or sulfates. These sulfites or sulfates in turn can react with a conventional refractory inorganic oxide such as alumina to form stable sulfates, i.e. Al.sub.2 (SO.sub.4).sub.3. The result is that catalyst activity quickly deteriorates. Alumina can accumulate sulfates, which are then released when the temperature is raised. This causes the undesirable release of a sulfuric acid particulate mist.

It is known in the art that refractory oxides such as titania and zirconia do not form stable sulfates under gasoline fueled engine exhaust. Therefore, one would expect less sulfate storage and better durability for diesel applications. However, as will be shown in greater detail, the use of titania or zirconia in combination with a noble metal catalytic element such as platinum, results in an unexpected improvement in the ability of the catalytic composite to more completely combust diesel soot at normal diesel exhaust tempertures versus using an alumina support.

In order to more fully illustrate the advantages to be derived from the instant invention, the following examples are set forth. It is to be understood that the examples are by way of illustration only and are not intended as an undue limitation on the broad scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

In order to facilitate obtaining data, all measurement were conducted on conventional honeycomb substrates, i.e. all flow channels open, instead of wall-flow honeycomb substrates. A special procedure was also developed to accurately determine the activity of the various catalytic composites. The first part of the procedure involved depositing diesel soot onto the catalytic composite. A catalytic composite was placed in a demountable catalyst holder and placed in the exhaust of a diesel vehicle which was driven over a prescribed cycle on a chassis dynamometer. The diesel vehicle used for this purpose was a 1977 International Harvester diesel Scout equipped with an indirect injected 3.2 liter six cylinder engine. Commercial number two diesel fuel was used to run the vehicle.

The driving cycle which was used to deposit the soot onto the catalytic composite is described in Table 1. The maximum temperture at the inlet of the catalytic composite was maintained at 288.degree. C. by adjusting the dynamometer load. The cycle was run for 48 hours.

The second part of the procedure involved evaluating the activity of the catalytic composite in a laboratory test apparatus after the soot was deposited. Cylindrical cores measuring 2.22 cm in diameter by 1.27 cm high, were drilled and cut from the catalytic composite after the 48 hour sooting cycle. A slice was placed in a reactor which in turn was placed in a vertical furnace. A synthetic gas feed was flowed over the solid catalyst slice being tested. The feed gas composition was selected to simulate a highly oxidizing diesel exhaust gas except that CO.sub.2 was absent. This gas composition is summarized in Table 2.

With this simulated exhaust flowing over the catalyst, the temperature at the catalyst inlet position was increased from 120.degree. C. to 750.degree. C. at 15.degree. C./minute with 15 minute holds at 300.degree., 350.degree., and 400.degree. C. The analysis of the product gas for CO, CO.sub.2, C.sub.3 H.sub.8 and O.sub.2 permitted determination of soot-carbon (i.e., carbon and adsorbed hydrocarbon) burning rate versus the inlet temperature.

A conventional catalytic composite was prepared by the following method. A dilute solution of nitric acid (HNO.sub.3) was prepared by adding 285 g of concentrated nitric acid to a container which contained 8000 mL of deionized water. This solution was stirred and to it there were added 5300 grams of gamma alumina. The resultant slurry was ball milled for 2.0 hours. An oval shaped cordierite monolith with a minor axis of 3.2 inches, a major axis of 5.7 inches, a length of 5 inches and having 400 square channels per square inch of facial area was dipped into the slurry. After dipping, the excess slurry was blown out with an air gun. The slurry coated monolith was calcined for about 2 hours at 540.degree. C. The above described dipping, blow out and calcining steps were repeated until the monolith contained 1.5 g of alumina per cubic inch of monolith volume.

Next the platinum metal was impregnated onto the abovedescribed washcoated monolith. The above-described monolith was dipped into an aqueous solution containing 1.7 g of chloroplatinic acid. After dipping, the excess solution was blown out with an air gun and calcined for about 2 hours at 540.degree. C. This catalytic composite was designated Catalyst A. Analysis of this composite showed a platinum content of 15 g Pt per cubic foot of support.

An experimental catalytic composite was prepared by the following method. A dilute solution of nitric acid (HNO.sub.3) was prepared by adding 28.1 g of concentrated nitric acid to a container which contained 9100 mL of deionized water. This solution was stirred and to it there were added 3600 grams of titania. The resultant slurry was ball milled for 3 hours. An oval shaped cordierite monolith with a minor axis of 3.2 inches, a major axis of 5.7 inches, a length of 5 inches and having 400 square channels per square inch of facial area was dipped into the above-described slurry. After dipping, the excess slurry was blown out with an air gun. The slurry coated monolith was calcined for about 1 hour at 540.degree. C. The above-described dipping, blow-out and calcining steps were repeated until the monolith contained 1.5 g per cubic inch of monolith volume.

Next the platinum metal was impregnated onto the abovedescribed washcoated monolith. The above-described monolith was dipped into an aqueous solution containing 1.7 g of chloroplatinic acid. After dipping, the excess solution was blown out with an air gun and calcined for about 2 hours at 540.degree. C. This catalytic composite was designated Catalyst B. Analysis of this composite showed a platinum content of 17 g Pt per cubic foot of support. The platinum content of this composite is equivalent to that of Catalyst A within experimental error of the analysis.

A dilute solution of nitric acid (HNO.sub.3) was prepared by adding 285 g of concentrated nitric acid to a container which contained 8000 mL of deionized water. This solution was stirred and to it there were added 5300 grams of gamma alumina. The resultant slurry was ball milled for 2.0 hours. An oval shaped cordierite monolith with a minor axis of 3.2 inches, a major axis of 5.7 inches, a length of 5 inches and having 400 square channels per square inch of facial area was dipped into the above-described slurry. After dipping, the excess slurry was blown out with an air gun. The slurry coated monolith was calcined for about 1 hour at 540.degree. C. The above-described dipping, blow-out and calcining steps were repeated until the monolith contained 1.5 g per cubic inch of monolith volume. This sample was designated Sample C.

A dilute solution of nitric acid (NHO.sub.3) was prepared by adding 28.1 g of concentrated nitric acid to a container which contained 9100 mL of deionized water. This solution was stirred and to it there were added 3600 grams of titania. The resultant slurry was ball milled for 3 hours. An oval shaped cordierite monolith with a minor axis of 3.2 inches, a major axis of 5.7 inches, a length of 5 inches and having 400 square channels per square inch of facial area was dipped into the above-described slurry. After dipping, the excess slurry was blown out with an air gun. The slurry coated monolith was calcined for about 1 hour at 540.degree. C. The above-described dipping, blow-out and calcining steps were repeated until the monolith contained 1.5 g per cubic inch of monolith volume. This sample was designated Sample D.

Samples A, B, C and D were cut lengthwise into quarter sections and recombined to form a complete honeycomb monolith by cementing the quartered sections together with Sauereisen Number 8, a ceramic adhesive. Next, this combined monolith was put into the exhaust of a diesel engine and then evaluated according to the procedures set forth in Example 1.

The results of the laboratory evaluations are presented in Table 3. Table 3 clearly shows that platinum dispersed on titania (Sample B) burns considerably more soot at 350.degree. C. than platinum dispersed on alumina (Sample A). Table 3 also shows the unexpected results that titania (Sample D) is better at combusting diesel soot than alumina (Sample C) at 400.degree. C. Thus, the combination of platinum and titania leads to the unexpected lowering of the diesel soot combustion temperature from 400.degree. C. to 350.degree. C.