Impact of Hydrogen on Methane and Pollutant Emissions over Three-Way Catalysts with Natural Gas–Hydrogen Blends

2026-01-0357

4/7/2026

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Blending natural gas (NG) with hydrogen (H₂) can improve combustion and engine performance while potentially facilitating the catalytic conversion of methane and other pollutants, resulting in cleaner tailpipe emissions. This study evaluates the impact of H2 on the conversion of methane, CO, and NOx emissions on a commercial three-way catalyst (TWC) in a flow reactor using synthetic gas mixtures that simulate stoichiometric engine exhausts with NG or NG+H₂ combustion. The work examines whether, and how, the additional amount of H₂ in the exhaust stream affects the conversion efficiency of methane and other pollutants. Experiments were conducted with both degreened and aged catalysts under controlled conditions, systematically varying temperature, the air-to-fuel equivalence ratio (λ), and λ modulation. Test conditions covered λ values from 0.996 to 1.000 to represent nominally stoichiometric engine operation with different λ modulation amplitudes, as well as a range of temperatures to inform control strategies for effective CH₄, CO, and NOₓ reduction. Overall, the results show that hydrogen addition significantly improves the conversion efficiency of CH₄ and NOₓ, particularly at temperatures below 500 °C. More significantly, this study highlights that exhaust gas composition, operating temperature, λ management, and the oxygen storage capacity of the TWC all play major roles in affecting the tailpipe emissions from NG and NG+H₂ combustion.
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Prikhodko, V., Wang, M., Park, Y., Chen, H., et al., "Impact of Hydrogen on Methane and Pollutant Emissions over Three-Way Catalysts with Natural Gas–Hydrogen Blends," WCX SAE World Congress Experience, Detroit, Michigan, United States, April 14, 2026, https://doi.org/10.4271/2026-01-0357.
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Published
Apr 07
Product Code
2026-01-0357
Content Type
Technical Paper
Language
English