Experimental analysis of flyash based ion exchanged Fe,Cu and V-X zeolite catalysts for SI engine exhaust emission control

The conventional three-way catalytic converter used in gasoline engines, controls effectively the levels of CO and HC, but it displays poor conversion in harmful NOx emission. In this work, fly ash which is relatively abundant and inexpensive has been used as a replacement for expensive materials. In the present work, X-Zeolite was synthesized from Coal Fly ash[m/s Mettur thermal power station]. 13-X zeolite was purchased from market. By the process of exchanging Na+ ions present in these zeolites with copper, Iron and Vanadium metal ions separately, six catalysts were prepared. Investigations were carried out on the 3 cylinder, 4-stroke, water cooled Maruthi Omni Gasoline Engine with a displacement volume of 796 cc and coupled with eddy current dynamometer. The packed catalyst bed was housed in a 100mm diameter cylindrical pipe and is connected near to the exhaust manifold. AVL Di-gas analyzer is used to measure the NOx, CO, HC, CO2, O2 emissions. Experiments were conducted at various loads from no load to maximum load without catalytic converter and then using the Cu-X, Cu-13X, Fe-X, Fe-13-X,V-X and V-13X zeolite catalytic converters and the results are reported.