A study of the ammonia selectivity on Pt/BaO/Al2O3 model catalyst during the NOx storage and reduction process

The ammonia selectivity during the cycling NOx storage reduction process over a model Pt/Ba/Al2O3 catalyst was studied. Firstly, it was demonstrated that, whereas the presence of water or carbon dioxide in the gas mixture have a negative effect on the storage step, the effect of these components have different impacts on the NOx efficiency. Due to their involvement in the reverse water gas shift (RWGS) reaction, the absence of water in the gas mixture leads to a drop of the NOx removal whereas without CO2, an increase of the NOx conversion is observed. It was also showed that the reducer (H2) conversion during the short excursion in rich condition is directly correlated to the NH3 emission. NH3 is emitted since hydrogen is not fully converted, whatever the NOx conversion rate. The ammonia pathway is clearly demonstrated and it was claim that, when H2 remains in the reaction mixture, the ammonia production rate is higher than the ammonia reaction with the remaining NOx in order to form N2.