1. Introduction The Carbon Dioxide Utilisation Summits are held twice per year, alternating between being hosted in a European location and in North America. They are organised by Active Communications International (ACI), Inc. This two-day event was held in Reykjavik, Iceland, on 18th and 19th October 2017. The main aim of this Summit series is to bring together key players from industry,...

Introduction Three-way catalysts (TWCs) have been widely applied on stoichiometric-burn gasoline engine powered vehicles to reduce the tailpipe emissions of hydrocarbons (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). A conventional TWC can convert the three pollutants at nearly 100% conversion efficiency once it reaches its operation temperature, typically above 400°C. As the...

A catalyst support is often used to disperse a catalyst material to enhance the contact area for reaction. In catalytic converters, a coating called the catalyst layer contains both the catalyst support and catalytically active material. Given the role of the catalyst layer in catalytic converters, its mechanical strength is of great importance as it determines the service life of catalytic converters. This review paper therefore summarises a number of methods which are currently used in the literature to measure the strength of a catalyst layer. It was identified that the methods applied at present could be divided into two groups. All methods regardless of the group have been successfully used to investigate the effect of a range of formulation and process parameters on the strength of a catalyst layer. In terms of measurement principles, Group 1 methods measure the strength based on mass loss after the layer sample is subjected to a destructive environment of choice. Group 2 methods tend to give more direct measurements on the strength of bonding between particles in a catalyst layer. Therefore, strength data generated by Group 2 methods are more reproducible between different researchers as the results are less dependent on the testing environment. However, methods in both groups still suffer from the fact that they are not designed to separately measure the cohesive and the adhesive strength of a catalyst layer. Two new methods have been recently proposed to solve this problem; with these methods, the cohesive and adhesive strength of a catalyst layer can be measured separately.

Industrial processes contribute significantly to global carbon dioxide emissions, with iron and steel manufacturing alone responsible for 6% of the total figure. The STEPWISE project, funded through the European Horizon 2020 (H2020) Low Carbon Energy (LCE) programme under grant agreement number 640769, is looking at reducing CO₂ emissions in the iron and steel making industries. At the heart of this project is the ECN technology called sorption-enhanced water-gas shift (SEWGS), which is a solid sorption technology for CO₂ capture from fuel gases such as blast furnace gas (BFG). This technology combines water-gas shift (WGS) in the WGS section with CO₂/H₂ separation steps in the SEWGS section. Scaling up of the SEWGS technology for CO₂ capture from BFG and demonstrating it in an industrially relevant environment are the key objectives of the STEPWISE project, which are achieved by international collaboration between the project partners towards design, construction and operation of a pilot plant at Swerea Mefos, Luleå, Sweden, next to the SSAB steel manufacturing site.

The design of catalyst products to reduce harmful emissions is currently an intensive process of expert-driven discovery, taking several years to develop a product. Machine learning can accelerate this timescale, leveraging historic experimental data from related products to guide which new formulations and experiments will enable a project to most directly reach its targets. We used machine learning to accurately model 16 key performance targets for catalyst products, enabling detailed understanding of the factors governing catalyst performance and realistic suggestions of future experiments to rapidly develop more effective products. The proposed formulations are currently undergoing experimental validation.

The pollution problem known as acid rain has focused attention on the need to control all major sources of contributing emissions. The use of platinum metal catalysts to control automobile exhaust gases is now well developed but in fact over half the man-made nitrogen oxides exhausted into the atmosphere are emitted from sources other than vehicles, and include power station boilers, industrial boilers and stationary internal combustion engines. Several methods may be used to prevent these emissions, and platinum catalysts, either alone or in combination with one or more of the base metal catalysts currently used, appear to have considerable potential for this application.

The introduction and development of catalytic control for exhaust gas emissions from vehicles has been one of the major technical achievements over the last four decades. A huge number of cars were manufactured during this time that provided society with a high degree of personal mobility and without the continuous development of emissions control technologies the atmospheric pollution...

1. Introduction This symposium was organised by Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, to commemorate the first 20 years of research at Competence Centre for Catalysis (KCK). The Frontiers in Environmental Catalysis conference was held on 24th September 2015 at Chalmers University of Technology. All previous and current KCK employees were invited, together with representatives of KCK’s...

Natural gas is of increasing interest as an alternative fuel for vehicles and stationary engines that traditionally use gasoline and diesel fuels. Drivers for the adoption of natural gas include high abundance, lower price and reduced greenhouse gas emissions compared to other fossil fuels. Biogas is an option which could reduce such emissions further. The regulations which cap emissions from these engines currently include Euro VI and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse gas legislation. The regulated emissions limits for methane, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) for both stoichiometric and lean burn compressed natural gas engines can be met by the application of either palladium-rhodium three-way catalyst (TWC) or platinum-palladium oxidation catalyst respectively. The drivers, policy and growth of this Pd based catalyst technology and its remaining challenges to be overcome in terms of cost and catalyst deactivation due to sulfur, water and thermal ageing are described in this short review.

The annual SAE Congress is the vehicle industry's largest conference and covers all aspects of automotive engineering. The 2012 congress took place in Detroit, USA, from 24th–26th April 2012. There were upwards of a dozen sessions focused on vehicle emissions technology, with most of these on diesel emissions. More than 70 papers were presented on this topic. In addition, there were two...

The control of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions to meet more stringent motor vehicle emission legislation has been enabled by the development of various exhaust gas aftertreatment technologies, notably those that employ platinum group metals (pgms). Technology Developments For gasoline engines the most common aftertreatment for the control of NOx, as well as the other major regulated...

The 40th anniversary of the manufacture of the world's first commercial batch of autocatalysts for passenger cars at Johnson Matthey Plc's site in Royston, UK, was marked in May 2014. Despite the enormous progress made in reducing the emission of pollutants from vehicles since the 1970s, there has also been considerable recent discussion about the levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx),...

One of the more evocative cases of disruptive innovation is how steam powered vessels displaced sailing ships in the 19th century. Independent of wind and currents, shipping entered a new age. Faster shipping enabled more efficient trading and easier international travel. It fuelled economic growth and wealth creation. This transition was not rapid, taking half a century to evolve, a period in which hybrid vessels, those using sails and steam generated power were a common sight. The age of steam brought a period of change which affected many aspects of shipping, not only its appearance and practices but also its environmental impact. It facilitated further disruption and the emergence of what has become the industry standard for a ‘prime mover’: the diesel engine. Achieving the decarbonisation of the shipping fleet as soon as possible this century will be one of the most significant disruptions the shipping sector has had to manage. Meaningful change by 2050 requires strategic development and decisive action today, made all the more complicated by the immediate demands that the sector manages both the current and longer term impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on the shipping industry. This paper looks briefly at the transition from wind power to carbon based fuel power to gain insight into how the shipping sector manages disruptive change. It also reviews some technology options the shipping sector could adopt to reduce its environmental impact to meet a timetable of international requirements on ship emissions limits. The paper will focus on how the engine room might evolve with changes in: (i) energy conversion, how power is generated on board, i.e. the engine; and (ii) energy storage, i.e. choice of fuel.

1. Introduction The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 2014 Heavy-Duty Diesel Emission Control Symposium was, like its predecessors, hosted in Gothenburg, Sweden. This biennial two-day event attracted around 160 delegates. Most of the delegates (>95%) came from catalyst system and component suppliers as well as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). A few delegates came from academia,...

Recent concerns over the health effects of particulate emissions from vehicles have focused on diesel engines. While European legislation to limit their emissions is now in place it is expected that future legislation will be more demanding. Using a platinum catalyst it has been possible to demonstrate in various trials the practical application of a novel system for the removal of both the soot and hydrocarbon components from diesel powered vehicle exhaust. The background to the development of this successful technology is described here.

Introduction The topical conference series Catalysis and Automotive Pollution Control, generally known by the acronym ‘CAPoC’, has taken place periodically at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, since the first one in 1986. The late Professor Alfred (Freddy) Frennet was central in establishing these conferences and for many years he was their guiding force. The first four...

This symposium held in Bad Harrenalb, Germany, from 3rd–5th September, 2017, specifically focused on modelling and numerical simulation in automobile exhaust-gas aftertreatment. The purpose of the workshop was to support the exchange of state-of-the-art modelling and simulation techniques and new approaches among researchers, scientists and engineers from industry and academia. The meeting had over 100 registered participants, about 45% from academia and 55% from industry. The scientific programme was composed of four tutorials, plus oral and poster presentations.

This report gives a summary of the oral presentations, which will be divided into five sessions: selective catalytic reduction (SCR), methane oxidation, diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC), diesel particulate filter (DPF) and modelling and performance.

China has been the world’s largest new vehicle market since 2009 and new vehicle sales exceeded 28 million in 2016, among which more than 87% were light-duty vehicles (LDV). In order to reduce emissions and control air pollution China has recently adopted the China 6 emissions standard for LDV which is 50% more stringent than China 5. Besides strengthening the tailpipe emissions limits, China 6 changes the emissions test driving cycle to the Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (WLTC), adds real road emissions requirements and significantly strengthens evaporative emissions control. This paper introduces the standard development background, summarises the key technical improvements and discusses the areas for further improvements in future.

Driven by concerns on deteriorating ambient air quality, measures are being taken across the world to adopt and enforce tighter vehicular emission regulations to minimise tailpipe unburned hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM). In regions with advanced regulations, the focus is on limiting the pollutants under real-world or in-use driving conditions. Given the intensified effort to curb global warming and limit fossil fuel use in the transportation sector, several countries have adopted targets on tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions. This confluence of stringent regulations for both criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is leading to a rapid adoption of advanced powertrains and aftertreatment technologies. This is a review of some of these recent advances pertinent to reducing vehicular emissions and developing improved aftertreatment solutions. The scope is limited to gasoline vehicles where the adoption of gasoline direct injection (GDI) and hybrid powertrain technologies is leading to significant shifts in the aftertreatment solutions. There is significant work being done to improve diesel aftertreatment systems especially in light of real-world driving emission (RDE) regulations. These are not covered here, rather the reader is referred to a previous article in this journal’s archive (1), and to a more recent review (2).

Methanol is increasingly being looked at as a way to reduce the emissions potential of transport fuel. It may be used in place or in addition to gasoline fuel, for example. The amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted in producing methanol can vary hugely according to the syngas generation technology selected and the choice of electrical or steam turbine drive for compressors and pumps. This paper looks at the impact of these technology choices on GHG emissions and how the carbon intensity of methanol used as a transport fuel compares to the carbon intensity of other hydrocarbon fuels. It is found that methanol produces lower well to wheel emissions than gasoline under all production methods studied and can even produce lower GHG emissions compared to ethanol as a fuel supplement. However, the same is not always true if methanol is used to produce gasoline from natural gas.