Union College Catalytic Aerogel Testbed

Catalytic converters are commonly used in automobiles and other combustion engines to convert the harmful pollutants in the engine exhaust into a less toxic form. A catalytic converter does this by flowing the exhaust gas through a honeycomb-like ceramic material which is wash coated with catalytic species. These catalytic species are commonly expensive precious metals such as platinum and rhodium. Aerogels impregnated with catalytic elements are currently being researched as a less expensive and more sustainable alternative to these precious metals. As a part of this research a testbed was designed and built at Union College to analyze the performance of catalytic aerogels. This Union Catalytic Aerogel Testbed (UCAT) can test aerogels in small samples (15-25 mL) over a wide range of temperatures up to 800℃. UCAT uses in-house mixed simulated car exhaust containing carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and simple hydrocarbons. A test cell that contains the aerogel material is housed inside an oven. Gas can be directed either through the test cell or through a bypass line. Using these two lines one can find the percent conversion caused by the catalytic aerogel at different temperatures. The testbed also has the capability to mix air into the simulated exhaust flow. During the past two terms we have tested a range of catalytic aerogels containing metals such as copper, nickel, ceria, alumina and silica. These aerogels have had varying levels of success with different pollutants. The copper-alumina aerogels exhibit the lowest light-off temperature (the temperature where 50% of the pollutant is converted) at 275℃ for carbon-monoxide. This poster will show and explain the various sub-systems of the testbed and present typical results for a variety of catalytic aerogels.