Demonstration of a base metal Low-temperature Catalytic converter for deNOx (LowCat Demo)

在欧洲，空气质量差导致每年约40万人死亡。2017年，39%的氮氧化物排放来自公路运输，另有45%来自燃烧或化学加工等行业。超过欧盟空气质量法规关于环境NO2浓度的86%的观测是在路边站进行的，其中98%在城市或郊区。柴油动力车辆和机器是NOx污染的主要来源之一。虽然根据总理的十点计划，纯汽油和柴油汽车的销售将在2030年被禁止，但该政策仅适用于轻型汽车。对于重型车辆和机器，柴油发动机在可预见的未来仍将是主要的动力系统。存在用于柴油发动机的NOx排放控制的各种技术。SCR（选择性催化还原）作为主要的脱硝技术之一，在HDV中已经应用了十多年。然而，SCR在低温（<200 oC）下的NOx转化效率较低（低于50%）。此外，SCR催化剂的高成本阻碍了其在中小型发动机中的广泛应用。该项目开发了一种硅酸铁材料，最初打算作为金星大气中流星物质的模拟物，我们已经证明这种材料在催化选择性还原NOx而不是N2方面是有效的。该材料在低温（包括环境温度）下显示出催化NO2还原的卓越能力，因此我们将其称为LowCat。该项目的目的是扩大这种低成本新型催化剂的生产，提高和巩固其在低温NOx转化方面的优势，并在真实的世界应用中展示其转化效率和成本效益。该项目的最终目标是改善城市空气质量，改善人类健康和福祉。

Poor air quality results in around 400,000 excess deaths per year in Europe. In 2017, 39 % of NOx emissions were from road transport, with a further 45 % from sectors which include combustion or chemical processing. 86 % of observations which exceed EU air quality legislation regarding ambient NO2 concentrations were made at roadside stations, with 98 % of these in urban or suburban areas. Diesel powered vehicles and machines are one of the major sources of NOx pollutions. Though the sales of pure petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned in 2030 according to the Prime Minister's ten point plan, the policy only applies to light duty vehicles. For heavy duty vehicles and machines, diesel engines will still be the main powertrains in the foreseeable future. There are various technologies for NOx emissions control from diesel engines. SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) as one of the major deNOx technologies has been used in HDVs for more than a decade. However, the NOx conversion efficiency of SCR at low temperature (<200 oC) is poor (less than 50%). In addition, the high cost of SCR catalyst has hindered its wide application in small to medium engines. This project has developed an iron silicate material, originally intended as an analogue for meteoric material in Venus' atmosphere, which we have shown to be effective in catalysing the selective reduction of exhaust NOx over N2. The material shows a remarkable ability to catalyse the reduction of NO2 at low (including ambient) temperatures, so we refer to it as LowCat. The aim of this project is to scale up production of this low-cost novel catalyst, improve and consolidate its advantages on low temperature NOx conversion and demonstrate its conversion efficiency and cost effectiveness in real world applications. The ultimate goal of the project is to contribute to better urban air quality and improve human health and well-being.