Dr. Rajamani Gounder, Larry and Virginia Faith Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, is part of a multi-institutional team of researchers that has been awarded $2 million over three years to study novel adsorber and catalyst technology to reduce automotive emissions in low-temperature gasoline exhaust after-treatment. Funding is through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE), Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), and is one of two awards in the area of Emission Control Strategies for Advanced Combustion Engines.

The project is titled “Development of Passive Hydrocarbon/NOx Trap Catalysts for Low Temperature Gasoline Applications.” Gounder noted that the project was selected to support DOE development of catalyst materials and after-treatment strategies that will enable vehicles with advanced combustion strategies to meet Tier 3 emissions standards while achieving breakthrough thermal efficiencies.

“The goal of this project is to research and develop novel adsorber and catalyst technology to address the emissions of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides (NOx) at low temperatures, with a focus on gasoline applications,” Gounder explained. “Research is needed to develop new catalyst and adsorber designs that better control emissions when engine exhaust is not hot enough for conventional technologies to be effective, such as when a cold engine is first started.”

The team will be led by researchers from the University of Kentucky, and includes partners from Purdue University, University of California-Berkeley, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the Ford Motor Company. Dr. Gounder is the Purdue co-principal investigator, and will receive $540,000 of the total award for Purdue-based research.

The grant from the Vehicles Technologies Office represents the DOE’s commitment to advanced energy efficient transportation technologies and systems to improve the United States’ energy security, help consumers and businesses save money on transportation energy costs, and strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness.

To learn more about Dr. Rajamani Gounder, visit https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE/people/ptProfile?resource_id=85277.

Learn more about the U.S. Department of Energy at https://energy.gov/.

Pictured above left: Dr. Rajamani Gounder with his graduate students Phil Kester, John Di Iorio, and Ravi Joshi.

Pictured above right: John Di Iorio prepares a catalyst sample for testing in a lab-scale reactor.