A process for operating an exhaust gas treatment unit containing a sulfur trap and a nitrogen oxides storage catalyst

摘要

An internal combustion engine (2) exhaust gas purification device (1) is operated predominantly using lean air-fuel ratios. It has a sulfur filter (5) followed by a NOx storage catalyzer (6). Process for operating an internal combustion engine exhaust gas purification device comprises:- (a) storing the nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas on a storage catalyst and the sulfur oxides on the sulfur trap at air factors of above 1 and exhaust gas temperatures TK within the activity window DELTA TNOX, in which the exhaust gas temperature TS is smaller than the desulfurization temperature TS DeSOx, and cyclically reducing the air factor of the exhaust gas below 1 to release the stored nitrogen oxides; and (b) desulfurizing the sulfur trap by increasing the exhaust gas temperature TS above the desulfurization temperature of the sulfur trap and reducing the air factor of the exhaust gas below 1 and cyclically repeating steps (a) and (b).