Characterization of catalyst poisoning in biodiesel and conventional diesel fuelled vehicles

Demand for lower and lower emissions in road transportation has promoted the development of more efficient exhaust emission catalysts. On the same time the fight against the impact of transportation on climate change has opened the way for the use of biofuels, e.g. biodiesel. Deactivation of catalytic surfaces is a serious problem in the design of more efficient automotive exhaust catalysts. Deactivation of catalysts can be classified in three types: chemical (e.g. poisoning), mechanical (e.g. fouling) and thermal (e.g. ageing). In the long run these deactivation processes can cause nearly total loss of catalytic activity in the catalyst material. In biodiesel fuelled vehicles these processes can lead to notably different effects in catalyst efficiency compared to those of conventional diesel vehicles [1].