| Scholar Name | Patel Kuldip Dilip Kumar |
| Department | Chemical Engineering |
| Reseach Area | Automotive Emmision Control |
| Supervisor Name | Dr. F. J. Patel |
| Title | Design and Development of Automotive catalytic converter using non-Nobel catalyst for the reduction of exhaust emission |
| Abstract | Increasing environmental concerns caused by vehicular emissions have accelerated the demand for cost effective and competent catalysts for catalytic converter device. This research highlights the need to develop and evaluate a sustainable alternative to conventional systems by introducing synthesis of non-noble metal perovskite based catalysts and design modification of catalytic converter. A non-noble metal catalyst La?.?Sr?.?Co?.?Fe?.?O? (LSCF) perovskite oxide, synthesized using co-precipitation technique, wash coated onto a cordierite ceramic monolith, and assembled into a catalytic converter housing with design changes incorporating optimized flow channel geometry. In this context, synthesised catalyst were analysed using SEM, XRD and EDX to study surface morphology and crystal structure confirmation. Modified Converter assembly was analysed under the computational simulations to examine velocity profile, flow pressure and reaction pattern. The whole module then evaluates experimentally on petrol fuel laboratory test setup for emission performance under varying loads and speeds. Three catalytic converter configurations with varying inlet cone angles (8?, 10? and 14?) were analysed. Among these, the 8? diffuser showed the most favourable flow characteristics in terms of gas flow pattern, pressure distribution and velocity profile. Experimental results of engine performance and emission tests revealed a significant reduction in hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide emissions and the results are compared to engine without the converter. These findings emphasize the effectiveness of the developed non-noble metal based perovskite catalyst and the optimized catalytic converter design in reducing vehicular emissions and thereby offering a sustainable and alternate viable solution for emission control. Additionally, the CO and HC emissions decreased on average from 1.72% to 2.50% and from 0.03 ppm to 0.044 ppm, respectively. |