Plasma-Assisted Selective Catalytic Reduction for Low-Temperature Removal of NOx and Soot Simulant

The challenge that needs to be overcome regarding the removal of nitrogen oxides (NO x) and soot from exhaust gases is the low activity of the selective catalytic reduction of NO x at temperatures fluctuating from 150 to 350 °C. The primary goal of this work was to enhance the conversion of NO x and soot simulant by employing a Ag/α-Al 2O 3 catalyst coupled with dielectric barrier discharge plasma. The results demonstrated that the use of a plasma-catalyst process at low operating temperatures increased the removal of both NO x and naphthalene (soot simulant). Moreover, the soot simulant functioned as a reducing agent for NO x removal, but with low NO x conversion. The high efficiency of NO x removal required the addition of hydrocarbon fuel. In summary, the combined use of the catalyst and plasma (specific input energy, SIE ≥ 60 J/L) solved the poor removal of NO x and soot at low operating temperatures or during temperature fluctuations in the range of 150–350 °C. Specifically, highly efficient naphthalene removal was achieved with low-temperature adsorption on the catalyst followed by the complete decomposition by the plasma-catalyst at 350 °C and SIE of 90 J/L. View Full-Tex