New formula for cheaper catalysts

In a finding that provides an important boost to vehicle emissions control technology, a

research team has discovered a novel formulation to operate pollution-dampening catalytic converters without the need for expensive noble metals.

The novel formulation is designed for a relatively new vehicle engine technology that provides for high fuel efficiency. Such lean burn engines, which can save up to 20 percent on fuel consumption over engines now in use, are being road tested in several countries, including South Africa and Japan, but they are not yet on the market. These new engines require new catalysts because the existing catalysts do not work under the exhaust conditions the engines create.

The formulation developed by Jochen A. Lauterbach, UD associate professor of chemical engineering, and colleagues is both cheaper and more effective than the current means of catalytic conversion, which relies on the use of costly platinum in the storage and reduction of nitrogen oxides in the emissions.