How catalysts remove dangerous nitrogen oxides

”If we know exactly where the reaction takes place, the production of catalysts can be controlled accordingly”

11-Oct-2024 - Catalysts belonging to the zeolite family help to remove toxic nitrogen oxides from industrial emissions. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have now discovered that their complex nano porous structure is crucial. Specifically, individual iron atoms sitting in certain neighbouring ...

A single instrument determines a total of ten greenhouse gases and air pollutants simultaneously and with high precision

"Innosuisse Certificate" for Empa Spin-off: Ready for sustainable growth

12-Dec-2022 - Founded in February 2018 as an Empa spin-off, the start-up company "MIRO Analytical" received one of the coveted "Innosuisse Certificates" in October. The certificate reflects the remarkable progress the young company made during the funding agency's coaching program and confirms that the ...

Smog clears on car exhaust catalyst design

Systematic study resolves a debate on the best combination of metals to catalytically clean NOx from vehicle emissions

09-Jun-2022 - Smog-producing chemicals could be almost eliminated from the tailpipes of diesel cars and vans, using a new exhaust catalyst concept developed at KAUST. After systematically studying multiple catalyst compositions, the research team identified the ideal atomic recipe to catalytically remove NOx ...

First lockdown brought better air

The amount of nitrogen oxides fell by more than half in some cases due to the lockdown

23-Sep-2021 - Several studies have already shown: Concentrations of typical air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulate matter have decreased worldwide during corona-related lockdowns. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon have now calculated in a comprehensive study for whole Central Europe ...

Smog-eating graphene composite reduces atmospheric pollution

05-Dec-2019 - Graphene Flagship partners the University of Bologna, Politecnico di Milano, CNR, NEST, Italcementi HeidelbergCement Group, the Israel Institute of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology, and the University of Cambridge have developed a graphene-titania photocatalyst that degrades up to ...

Pinpointing Pollutants from Space

Industrial plants can be precisely located to within two kilometers

19-Nov-2019 - Nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) are major contributors to air pollution. In order to accurately predict air quality and develop strategies to reduce pollution, precise emission data are needed. Daily satellite measurements can help to derive such data. The measuring instrument observes a specific ...

Nano-composition: New synthesis of catalytic nanomaterials

05-Apr-2019 - Researchers at TU Graz describe the effects which occur upon evaporation of vanadium compounds in Chemical Science. Improvements for the development of SCR catalysts may be based on their results. Researchers at the Institute of Experimental Physics at TU Graz have investigated the detailed ...

Catalysts for controlled cascade reactions

01-Apr-2019 - It is difficult to convert carbon dioxide or nitrogen oxides into useful or harmless substances. Wolfgang Schuhmann wants to find a way and is being helped to do so by the EU. Professor Wolfgang Schuhmann intends to produce useful platform chemicals from harmful gases on an industrial scale using ...

Smog laid bare: Precise analysis of the composition of particulate matter

22-May-2018 - Smog is a problem. But the knowledge about its constituents - no longer. Researchers from several leading Warsaw scientific institutions have joined forces and developed a new, extremely precise method for the chemical analysis of suspended particulate matter. The method, easily adaptable in many ...

Cheaper catalytic converter meets modern engines

Less platinum needed

18-Dec-2017 - As cars become more fuel efficient, less heat is wasted in the exhaust, which makes it harder to clean up the pollutants being emitted. Researchers at Washington State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the University of New Mexico have created a catalyst capable of reducing ...