*** 9661351 Kukreja This project is concerned with a novel chemically heated catalytic converter to attain ultra-low emissions from vehicles.. The development of technology for meeting California Air Resources Board (CARB) Ultra-low-emission vehicle (ULEV) regulation has now become a main focus for vehicle manufacturers worldwide. Quick catalyst light-off temperature is a key part of being able to reduce HC and CO emissions. The use of an electrically heated catalytic (EHC) converter has been proposed to alleviate the problem, but the associated cost, and weight penalties are inadmissible. The technical feasibility of a new scheme for heating a catalytic converter was demonstrated through preliminary experiments. The proposed process utilizes energy released from the flameless chemical reaction between certain organic compounds and oxygen from air. This approach based on chemically heating the catalytic (CHC) converter offers an economical, energy-efficient and cleaner way to reduce pollutant emissions during cold-start of the vehicle. The current proposal aims at developing the CHC converter by optimizing and assessing the effects of design and operating parameters influencing the performance of the catalytic converter. The Phase I research will culminate with a database needed for the design, development and implementation of CHC converter in Phase II. . ***
