Richard Ezike

Ph.D. Candidate
B.S.E.: Chemical Engineering 2005, North Carolina State

rcezike@umich.edu

The addition of H₂ to diesel exhaust has been shown to improve the ability of Ag/Al₂O₃ to reduce NO_x to N₂. In lieu of the H₂ effect, a number of catalysts (Pt, Pd, Rh, Ag supported on gamma-Al₂O₃, TiO₂, and CeO₂) were prepared and tested for the ability to reduce NO_x with reformate (H₂/CO mixture). However, many of these catalysts either produce N₂O, an unwanted product, or are not significantly active at temperatures below 250^oC. Furthermore, these catalysts have not been tested under the influence of SO_x.

Therefore, my proposed research will involve 4 factors: (1) high throughput screening to determine optimal catalyst conditions; (2) mechanistic development of the reduction reaction and of the SO_x influence; (3) bulk and surface characterization of catalysts after exposure to SO_x ; and (4) development of means to regenerate the catalyst after exposure to various concentrations of SO_x (10-100 ppm).

Apparent standard potentials vs. pH for CO2 reduction