Abstract: The invention relates to a catalyst for lowering the amount of NOx in the lean exhaust gas from lean burn engines, comprising active aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide and at least one noble metal of the platinum group of the periodic table of the elements, as well as at least one nitrogen oxide storage material. The catalyst is characterized in that the magnesium oxide forms a homogeneous mixed oxide with aluminum oxide and is present in a concentration of about 1 to about 40 wt.-%, based on the total weight of the mixed oxide.

Abstract: The present invention provides processes for checking the operability of a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst during operation of a lean burn engine. The processes of the present invention utilize a nitrogen oxide storage material, a catalytically active component and optionally an oxygen storage material. During lean burn engine operation, damage to the catalytically active components is detected if the nitrogen oxide storage capacity in the kinetically controlled temperature range is lowered and damage to the storage material is detected if the nitrogen oxide storage capacity is lowered in the thermodynamically controlled temperature range.

Abstract: A method for producing a nitrogen oxide storage material that contains at least one storage component in the form of particles of an oxide, carbonate or hydroxide of the elements magnesium, strontium, barium, lanthanum and cerium on a carrier material from the group consisting of doped cerium oxide, cerium/zirconium mixed oxide and aluminum oxide or mixtures of these. The method is carried out by suspending the support material in an aqueous solution of precursors of the storage components, this suspension is then introduced into a hot gas stream, the temperature of which is calculated so that, during a residence time of the suspension in the hot gas stream of less than one minute, the solvent of the suspension is evaporated out and the precursors of the storage components are thermally broken down and converted to the storage components before the storage material that forms in this way is separated from the stream of hot gases.

Abstract: The invention relates to a catalyst for lowering the amount of NOx in the lean exhaust gas from lean burn engines, comprising active aluminum oxide, magnesium oxide and at least one noble metal of the platinum group of the periodic table of the elements, as well as at least one nitrogen oxide storage material. The catalyst is characterized in that the magnesium oxide forms a homogeneous mixed oxide with aluminum oxide and is present in a concentration of about 1 to about 40 wt.-%, based on the total weight of the mixed oxide.

Abstract: A process for removing soot from the exhaust gas of a diesel engine by oxidizing the nitrogen monoxide present in the exhaust gas to nitrogen dioxide, separating the soot from the exhaust gas stream and oxidizing the soot using the nitrogen dioxide produced. The process is performed in at least two consecutive process stages and the soot is separated from the exhaust gas stream with an efficiency W between 0.05 and 0.95 in each process stage, wherein each process stage can be assigned a transmission for soot in accordance with T=1−W and the total transmission of the process for soot is given as the product of the transmissions of all the process stages.

Abstract: A powdered catalyst material based on aluminum oxide, which contains at least one basic metal oxide and at least one noble metal from the platinum group of the Periodic System of Elements in addition to aluminum oxide. The catalyst material is obtainable by loading a support material already stabilized by basic oxides by renewed impregnation with further basic oxides. After drying and calcining this post-impregnated material at temperatures below 800° C., the catalytically active noble metals are also incorporated into the support material by impregnation.

Abstract: A powdered catalyst material based on aluminum oxide, which contains at least one basic metal oxide and at least one noble metal from the platinum group of the Periodic Table of Elements in addition to aluminum oxide. The catalyst material is obtainable by loading a support material already stabilized by basic oxides by renewed impregnation with further basic oxides. After drying and calcining this post-impregnated material at temperatures below 800° C., the catalytically active noble metals are also incorporated into the support material by impregnation.

Abstract: A nitrogen oxide storage catalyst which contains at least one catalyst material and at least one nitrogen oxide storage component from the group of alkali and alkaline earth metals. The nitrogen oxide storage component, after completing catalyst preparation, is present as finely divided barium sulfate, strontium sulfate, a mixture or mixed crystals of the two sulfates, or as their complete or incomplete decomposition product with an average particle size of less than 1 &mgr;m. Barium sulfate and/or strontium sulfate act as feed materials for the active storage component in the storage catalyst according to the invention. As a result of the reductive exhaust gas compositions occurring under normal automobile driving conditions barium sulfate and strontium sulfate decompose to compounds which are able to store nitrogen oxides. This compensates for the loss of active storage components which occurs due to aging.

Abstract: A nitrogen oxide storage material is disclosed which contains at least one storage component for nitrogen oxides in the form of an oxide, mixed oxide, carbonate or hydroxide of the alkaline earth metals magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium and the alkali metals potassium and caesium on a high surface area support material. The support material can be doped cerium oxide, cerium/zirconium mixed oxide, calcium titanate, strontium titanate, barium titanate, barium stannate, barium zirconate, magnesium oxide, lanthanum oxide, praseodymium oxide, samarium oxide, neodymium oxide, yttrium oxide, zirconium silicate, yttrium barium cuprate, lead titanate, tin titanate, bismuth titanate, lanthanum cobaltate, lanthanum manganate and barium cuprate or mixtures thereof.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for checking the operatability of a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst which is used to remove the nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas stream from a lean burn engine and which contains at least a nitrogen oxide storage material, a catalytically active component and optionally an oxygen storage material. The lean burn engine is operated with cyclic alternation of the air/fuel mixture from lean to rich and the nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas are stored by the nitrogen oxide storage material in the presence of lean burn exhaust gas (storage phase) and is desorbed and converted in the presence of rich exhaust gas (regeneration phase).

Abstract: A sulfur oxide storage material contains a magnesium-aluminum spinel (MgO.Al2O3) and can be used as a so-called “sulfur trap” to remove sulfur oxides from oxygen-containing exhaust gases of industrial processes. In particular, it can be used for the catalytic purification of exhaust gas from internal-combustion engines to remove the sulfur oxides from the exhaust gas in order to protect the exhaust gas catalysts from sulfur poisoning. The material displays a molar ratio of magnesium oxide to aluminum oxide in the range of over 1.1:1, and the magnesium oxide present in stoichiometric excess is homogeneously distributed in a highly disperse form in the storage material.

Abstract: A process for evaluating performance deterioration of a nitrogen oxide storage catalyst which has a nitrogen oxide storage function and an oxygen storage function and is operated with cyclic alternation of the air/fuel ratio in the exhaust gas from lean to rich. The nitrogen oxides are stored during the lean phase and the nitrogen oxides are desorbed and converted during the rich phase.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for operating an exhaust gas treatment unit for an internal combustion engine which is operated with lean normalized air/fuel ratios over most of the operating period. The exhaust gas treatment unit contains a nitrogen oxides storage catalyst with an activity window .DELTA.T.sub.NOX for the storage of nitrogen oxides at normalized air/fuel ratios of greater than 1 and release of the nitrogen oxides at normalized air/fuel ratios of less than or equal to 1 and a sulfur trap, located upstream of the nitrogen oxides storage catalyst, with a sulfur desorption temperature T.sub.S,DeSOx above which the sulfates stored on the sulfur trap are decomposed at normalized air/fuel ratios of less than or equal to 1. The nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas are stored on the nitrogen oxides storage catalyst and the sulfur oxides are stored on the sulfur trap at normalized air/fuel ratios greater than 1 and exhaust gas temperatures T.sub.K within the activity window T.sub.