CATALYTIC CONVERTER WITH METAL MONOLITH HAVING AN

INTEGRAL CATALYST Background of the Invention

This invention relates to improvements in monolithic catalytic _# ' 5 converters, particularly, but not limited to, those used to remove ozone from the conditioned air supplied to aircraft cabins.

Environmental control systems for aircraft supply pressurized and conditioned air to the aircraft cabin. The temperature, pressure, and relative humidity must be controlled to provide for the comfort of flight crew ιo and passengers within the aircraft.

Modern jet aircraft are typically designed for fuel-efficient operation at relatively high altitudes of 25,000 feet or more above sea level. At such altitudes, the ozone content in ambient air is relatively high and thus the air supplied to the aircraft environmental control system can contain a 15 substantial amount of ozone. It can cause lung and eye irritation, headaches, fatigue and/or breathing discomfort.

Catalytic converters have been used to reduce or eliminate undesirable ozone in the air supplied to aircraft cabins. Ceramic monolithic supports have been used which carry catalysts on a washcoat applied to 20 their surfaces, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,507. Aluminum honeycomb was treated with NaOH and then solutions of catalytic metals in the ozone converter described in U.S. Pat No. 4,348,360. In co-pending U.S. patent application 07/926,798 an improved catalytic ozone converter of compact size and lightweight construction is disclosed. The present 25 invention relates to the catalyst employed in such converters, the catalyst being integral with the converter structure and comprising aluminum oxide formed by anodizing the converter structure.

Formation of an alumina catalyst by anodization of an ( aluminum surface was reported by D. Honicke in Applied Catalysis, 5(1983) 30 179-198, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company. Similarly Yamada et al..

8th International Congress on Catalysis, 1984, Vol. IV, p. 835-846, reported an investigation of anodizing aluminum and its use as a catalyst.

The monolithic converters of the invention need not be limited to ozone destruction, but also may be employed in many applications where ceramic monoliths have been used. Such ceramic monoliths are commonly coated with a high surface area support which is not required by the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the invention is a catalytic converter in which an aluminum or aluminum alloy monolith is anodlzed to a depth which provides a suitable surface area and then impregnated with catalytic metals.

The catalytic converter structure preferably comprises one or more plate-fin elements which incorporate the catalyst and are retained within a housing in a generally cylindrical configuration. The plate-fin element or elements define a large plurality of fins arranged in an axial succession of offset or staggered fin rows to obtain relatively high mass transfer between a gas flow stream and the catalyst, but with minimal pressure drop.

The converter structure is made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy which provides lightweight and low cost. The catalyst is integral with the aluminum structure rather than being deposited on the structure by washcoating. This result is achieved by anodizing the structure to provide an aluminum oxide surface layer at least about 2 μm thick, preferably at least about 10μm and having a relatively high surface area of about 30 to 150 m ² /g of the oxide layer. The surface layer has disposed on and within it Group VIII noble metals such as Pt, Pd, Rh and the like, optionally with base metals from Group VIII such as Ni, Fe, and Co or from Groups lb, lib, Ilia to Vila. The amount of the Group VIII metals may be about 10 to 150 g ft ³ of the monolith (0.35 to 5.30 g/L), preferably 25 to 75 g/ft ³ of the monolith (0.88 to 2.65 g/L). The base metals will comprise up to about 500

g ft ³ (17.6 g/L) of the monolith, preferably about 200 to 400 g/ft ³ (7.06 to 14.1 g/L).

In one embodiment, the converter structure is anodized in an aqueous bath of 5-20 wt.% sulfuric acid at a temperature of 30°-40°C, 5 employing a direct current of about 9 amps/ft ² (99.7 amps/m ² ) at about 8- 15 volts.

In another embodiment the invention comprises a method for destroying ozone in air using the catalyst described above. The catalyst may be applied also in a method of oxidizing atmospheric pollutants such 0 as hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a plate-fin element having a succession of offset fin rows. 5 Figure 2 is an enlarged view illustrating the integral catalytic surface within the indicated region of Figure 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Monolith Structure o For details of the structure of the improved catalytic converter reference is made to co-pending U.S. patent application 07/926,798 where the catalytic converter of the invention provides a relatively lightweight and compact device for reducing the ozone content of air supplied to an environmental control system for aircraft cabin pressurization and/or 5 conditioning.

The catalytic ozone converter is mounted inside a conduit through which air flows to the aircraft environmental control system. The air may be obtained from a compressor stage of a gas turbine aircraft engine, although use or ram air and/or a combination of engine bleed and ram air 0 are known in the art.

^~

4

In a preferred embodiment the converter core comprises a plurality of plate-fin elements mounted within a cylindrical housing to define a multitude of small direction-changing tortuous flow paths. The plate-fin elements are arranged in a tightly packed cylindrical configuration, as a plurality of generally concentric annular rings. The center of the cylindrical space defined by the housing may be occupied by a small diameter support tube containing a short plate-fin element strip.

Each plate-fin element is constructed from a relatively lightweight metal substrate material such as aluminum or aluminum alloy which has been shaped as by stamping to define raised fins. As shown in Fig. 1 , the fins are arranged in an axial succession of adjacent rows 10, with the fins preferably having a corrugated configuration of generally rectangular profile. The fins of each row are laterally staggered or offset relative to the fins at the adjacent leading and trailing sides thereof. Each plate fin element comprises an integral catalyst according to the present invention.

This construction provides a large plurality of small tortuous flow paths extending axially through the converter core to achieve intimate mass transfer between the incoming air flow stream and the catalyst. The efficient decomposition of ozone in the flow stream is accomplished with relatively minimal pressure drop across the converter core. Thus, substantial air inflow rates can be maintained without exceeding ozone content limits. In addition, it is not necessary to separate the elements to create turbulent flow as has been recommended with conventional monolithic supports (e.g. U.S. 4,348,360) which typically have straight passageways and promote laminar rather than turbulent flow. A disadvantage of such plate-fin structures is that they are not easily washcoated because of the staggered fin rows and thus would not ordinarily be useful as catalyst supports. However, we have found that an anodized layer can be formed uniformly so that a catalytic converter can be produced.

Figure 2 shows an enlarged section of one plate-fin element as encircled in Figure 1. The aluminum or aluminum alloy structure is anodized to a depth of at least about 2μm, preferably at least about 10μm providing a porous integral support upon which the catalytic metals are deposited. The region 20 is the underlying metal structure while the region 22 is the anodized catalyst support.

The physical configuration just described may be employed in other applications where ceramic monoliths have been used. One such application is in the oxidation of atmospheric pollutants such as hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, diethyi sulfide, triethylamine, ethanol and the like. In those situations, the catalytic metals will be selected to destroy the pollutants which are present.

Anodization of the Monolith Anodizing is an electrolytic oxidation process which has been used to provide a surface coating on aluminum for protection or decoration of the aluminum or to create a porous layer which can be used as a catalyst support. The process generally involves establishing an electrolytic cell with the aluminum structure as the anode. Passing an electric current through the aluminum oxidizes the surface to an adherent aluminum oxide.

Specific conditions found to be useful for preparing an aluminum oxide catalyst support by anodizing will be found in the examples below. However, more generally the process involves immersing a section of the aluminum substrate in an acidic electrolyte, preferably sulfuric acid, but which could be other acids used in anodizing such as oxalic acid, phosphoric acid and the like. The acid concentration will be selected to provide the desired oxide thickness in an acceptable time For the preferred sulfuric acid the concentration may be about 5 to 20 wt.%, preferably 9 to 15 wt.%. The aluminum substrate will be the anode, while the cathode may be various metals or carbon. The anode and cathode are connected to a source of direct current having voltage available up to about 15 volts,

~

6 generally 8 to 15 volts. The voltage is varied to provide a constant anodizing current, typically about 9 amp/ft ² (96.88 amp/m ² ), selected to obtain the desired thickness. The process is exothermic and during the time required to produce the desired surface layer, say about 30 to 60 minutes the temperature will rise from about 30° C to 40° C. The surface layer should be at least 2 μm thick, preferably at least 10 μm, and have a surface area of about 30 to 150 m ² /g in order to provide sufficient surface for subsequent application of the catalytic metals. However, the thickness will depend on the particular application and the thickness of the aluminum (or alloy) walls.

Following anodizing, the aluminum substrate is washed with water to remove residual acid and then dried before the next step, i.e. the deposition of catalytic metals.

Catalyst Application

The methods used for applying the catalytic metals are familiar to those skilled in the catalyst art. In a preferred method, they may be applied as solutions of soluble compounds of the metals, either by dipping the anodized substrate into the solution or by otherwise applying an amount sufficient to deposit the desired metal loading. Following the impregnation step, the support is calcined at about 350° to 550° C for a period of 1 to 6 hours to convert the metal compounds to the metals or their oxides.

Useful catalytic metals for ozone decomposition include various noble metals from Group VIII, particularly platinum and palladium, supplemented by base metals from Groups VIII, preferably nickel, cobalt, and iron, or from Groups lllb and Vllb preferably cerium and manganese. For oxidation of pollutants, the noble metals may be supplemented by base metals from Groups lb, lib, Ilia, IVa, Va, Via, Vila, and VIII. Various soluble noble metal compounds familiar to those skilled in the art may be used such as halogen compounds (e.g., chloroplatinic acid) and nitrogen compounds (e.g., palladium nitrate, ammonium chloroplatinate). For some

applications chloride-free compounds provide superior results and compounds such as platinum sulfitθ acid (hydroxy disulfite platinum II acid) are preferred.

For an ozone converter palladium and nickel are preferably used in combination. For catalytic oxidation of pollutants, platinum is generally preferred, optionally in combination with base metals such as Ni, Co, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr, W, Mn, and the rare earths.

The amount of the noble metals may vary up to about 150 g/ft ³ (5.3 g/L) of the monolith, preferably about 25 to 75 g/ft ³ (0.88 to 2.65 g/L). The base metals will often be applied in larger amounts up to about 500 g/ft ³ of the monolith (17.6 g/L), preferably about 200 to 400 g/ft ³ (7.06 to 14.1 g/L). Example 1 Anodization A sample section of 104 μm thick aluminum finned substrate as described above measuring 1.61 in. x 1.00 in. x 0.25 in. (40.9 mm x 2.54 mm x 6.35 mm) having a surface area of 24 in ² (0.02 m ² ) was immersed in a 9 wt.% H2SO ₄ solution. A cathode having a surface area of 95 in ² (0.06 m ² ) made of aluminum foil was also immersed in the H2SO ₄ solution. The substrate and the cathode were connected to a variable source of D.C. voltage (Heath Schiumberger) and a voltage of 15 volts was applied to begin the anodization of the substrate. The process was continued for about 1 hour during which time the voltage was gradually lowered to 8 volts to maintain a current density of about 9 amps/ft ² (96.9 amps/m ² ). Over the 1 hour period the temperature of the electrolyte rose from 30° C to 40° C due to the exothermic reaction.

Following the anodization step the anodized substrate was washed in water, dried at 150° C for 15 minutes and measured. The weight loss was found to be 13.9 wt.%. The depth of the anodized surface layer was lO μm.

The sample was then calcined at 538° C for 1 hour. After cooling the sample was dipped in deionized water, removed and the excess water blown off, and weighed. It was found that the water uptake was 7.9 wt.%. Example 2

Metals Application

The anodized and calcined sample of Example 1 was impregnated with a solution of Pd and Ni compounds. 30.37 g of a 10.03 wt.% Pd (Nθ3) ₂ solution was added to 89.21 g of Ni(NO3) ₂ »6H ₂ 0 and then diluted to 100 mL with deionized water. 5 wt.% sugar was added to complete the solution preparation. Then the calcined substrate was dipped into the solution and agitated for 30 seconds, after which the excess solution was blown off and the sample calcined at 538° C for 2 hrs. The impregnation was repeated twice. It was found that the impregnated sample had picked up 9.4% in weight. The amount of the metals deposited was found to be 418 g/ft ³ Ni (14.7 g/L) and 78 g/ft ³ Pd (2.75 g/L). Example 3

A micro reactor was assembled to test a short section of the offset-fin monolith prepared as in Examples 1 and 2 at one million space velocity (1 x10 ⁶ hr ¹ ). A section of a monolith 7 fins wide and 2 sets of 7 fins deep (see Figure 1) measuring 0.5 in. x 0.25 in. x 0.2 in. (12.7 mm x 6.35 mm x 5.1 mm) was mounted in the reactor and air containing 2.4 ppm by volume of ozone was passed over the catalyst at 1x10 ⁶ GHSV (@ STP). The ozone conversion was measured by a PCI ozone monitor (Model LC) before and after the reactor. The results are given in the following table.

Table A

150 60

160 61

170 62 190 63

200 63.5

It can be seen that the conversion of ozone is not very sensitive to temperature and it is believed to be controlled by mass transfer of the ozone to the catalytic surface. Calculations indicate that if the catalyst contained 33 rows of fins rather than 2 rows, the conversion of ozone would be greater than 93%.

Testing for 72 hours indicated that the catalyst performance was retained with only about 2% reduction from the fresh conversion. Example 4

A sample of the aluminum finned substrate was anodized as described in Example 1 to provide an anodized surface layer of about 10 μm. The anodized sample was immersed in an aqueous solution of platinum su-fite acid to provide a platinum loading after calcination at 538° C for about 1 hour of 50 g/ft ³ Pt (1.76 g/L).

The resulting catalyst was tested for the oxidation of 300 ppm by volume of heptane in air at a space velocity of 1,000,000 hi" ¹ as described in Example 3. Heptane oxidation began at about 160°C and rose to about 12% at 200° C and to about 28% at 250° C. As indicated in Example 3 higher conversions would be obtained with lower space velocity or a greater number of fin rows. Example 5

Another sample of aluminum finned substrate prepared as in Example 4 was tested for the oxidation of carbon monoxide in air. The concentration of CO was 900 ppm by volume and the space velocity again was 1,000,000 hr' ¹ . Oxidation began at about 125°C and rose to about 15% at 175 ^β C, 36% at 200° C and 39% at 250° C.