The PARTIAL PGMs project has recently been successfully accomplished, achieving the development of a three-way catalyst for automobiles with a minimum percentage of platinum group metals. The developed catalyst was compared with a common commercial catalyst, under real gasoline engine conditions, obtaining similar results in terms of oxidation-reduction of the polluting gases among them, but with the environmental advantages that the new developed composition implies.
The project achieved to combine different information from different disciplines including computational modelling, development of both support materials and active materials, and the most advanced techniques of physical-chemical and functional characterization (catalysis). More in detail, LUREDERRA’s work was focused on the development, characterisation and subsequent large-scale production of catalytic nanoparticles such as mixed oxides with Cerium (Ce) and Zirconium (Zr) and even more complex multi-component oxides with perovskitic structure based mainly on Lanthanum (La), Iron (Fe), Calcium (Ca) and Copper (Cu). With one of these complex oxides, the deposition and impregnation tests of the catalyst under study were performed, which turned out to be the definitive catalyst.
For more detailed information, below, the link to the official video of the project:
http://www.partial-pgms.eu/project-video/
The consortium of the project was composed of 14 partners: Warrant Group SLR (WG), National Center for Scientific Research “Demokritos” (DEMOKRITOS), Johnson Matthey PLC (JM), Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille – Lille 1 (USTL), National Technical University of Athens – NTUA (NTUA), Università degli Studi di Padova (UNIPD), Universiteit Antwerpen (UANTWERPEN), Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e), Liqtech International A/S (LiqTech), The University of Birmingham (UoB), Vysoka Skola Chemicko – Technologicka V Praze (VSCHT), University of Delaware (Delaware), eAmbiente SRL (eAmbiente SRL) and Centro Tecnológico Lurederra (LUREDERRA).