Technical Paper
Laboratory Study of Lean NOx Trap Desulfation Strategies
2005-04-11
2005-01-1114
Desulfation characteristics of several model and fully-formulated monolithic lean NOx trap materials were studied in a laboratory flow reactor employing a chemical ionization mass spectrometer. For all samples, desulfation at elevated temperatures under reducing conditions resulted in appearance of sulfur dioxide (SO2) followed by carbonyl sulfide (COS) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The data appear consistent with a desulfation mechanism involving elimination of SO2 from stored sulfates under reducing conditions, followed by reaction of the SO2 with CO and H2 to produce COS and H2S, respectively. Based on these observations, several cyclic and multistage desulfation strategies were devised which greatly decreased H2S emissions while achieving relatively rapid and complete sulfur removal.
