The use of urea (NH2CONH2) to remove nitric oxide (NO) from exhaust streams was investigated using a laboratory laminar-flow reactor. The experiments used a number of gas compositions to simulate different combustion exhaust gases. The urea was injected into the gases as a urea-water solution. The decomposition processes of the urea-water solutions and urea powder were examined. For both the nitric oxide removal and the urea decomposition experiments, a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer was used to determine the concentrations of the product species. The products from the decomposition were examined every 50 K from 500 K to 800 K. The dominant products were ammonia (NH3), isocyanuric acid (HNCO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). In case of urea-water solution decomposition, for gas temperatures between 550 and 650 K, the highest concentrations were for NH3 and HNCO. On the other hand, the concentrations of CO2 were highest for gas temperatures of about 500 - 550 K. For temperatures above about 650 K, the amount of these three dominant prod-ucts slightly decreased as temperature increased. ivFor the nitric oxide removal (SNCR) experiments, the gas mixture was heated to temperatures between 800 K and 1350 K. Depending on the temperature, gas composition, residence time, and urea feed rate, removal levels of up to 95% were obtained. Other by-products such as N2O were detected and quantified. The effects of the urea/NO (beta) ratio were determined by varying the urea concentration for a constant NO con-centration of 330 ppm. The effects of the levels of oxygen (O2) in the exhaust gases and the residence time also were investigated. Increasing the urea/NO ratio and residence time resulted in higher NO removal and increased the temperature window of the nitric oxide removal.

I och med nuvarande och kommande lagkrav för utsläpp från tunga lastbilar finns en efterfrågan på utvecklade strategier för utsläppsminskning. För att kontrollera utsläppen av kväveoxider (NOx) används katalytisk omvandling med AdBlue (vätskeblandning av urea och vatten).  AdBlue-dropparna förångas av avgaserna eller på en förångningsyta där en väggfilm kan skapas som i sin tur kan öka risken för utfällningar av urea. Därför finns ett behov av ett reglersystem för att minimera risken för utfällning,  Målet med detta examensarbete var att skapa en bättre förståelse för hur risken för utfällning av urea kan relateras till den nuvarande kalibreringen på Scania och föreslå hur det nuvarande reglersystemet kan förbättras. Tester uppdelat i två delar genomfördes i en provcell. Först testades ureadoseringen i pulser där doseringsmängden, förångningstiden och pulsfrekvensen varierades. Därefter testades varierat avgasflöde mellan två flöden genom att ändra ramptiden.  Genom visuella inspektioner visade det sig att pulserna med urea behöver längre förångningstid än vad den aktuella kalibreringen anger. Detta för att minska risken av utfällningar. Vid dosering av urea över den stationära förångningskapaciteten skapades väggfilmen längre bort från doseringsenheten. Detta leder till mindre effektiv användning av den doserade urean. För varierat avgasflöde med de valda ramptidena förändrades inte risken för utfällning. Därför skulle det nuvarande styrsystemet kunna förbättras genom att inkludera en längre tid för förångning mellan ureadoseringspulserna. / With current and upcoming emission legislation for heavy-duty transport, there is a demand for improved emission abatement strategies. To control nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, catalytic conversion with AdBlue (a liquid mixture of urea and water) is used. Droplets of AdBlue are evaporated by the exhaust gas or on an evaporation surface where a wall film can be created. A wall film increases the urea deposit risk which in turn causes problems. Consequently, there is a need for a control system to minimize the risk of urea deposits. The target of this thesis was to create a better understanding of how the urea deposit risk can be related to the current control calibration at Scania and to suggest how the current control system could be improved. Tests were performed in an engine testbed, in two parts. Firstly, varying of urea dosing was tested in pulses where the dosing amount, evaporation time and pulse frequency were varied. Secondly, the exhaust flow rate was varied between two flows by changing the ramp time. Through visual inspections, it was shown that the urea dosing pulses need longer evaporation time than the current control calibration states, to reduce the build-up of urea deposits. Furthermore, when dosing urea above the stationary evaporation capacity, the wall film was created further away from the dosing unit, thus, leading to less efficient use of the injected urea. For varying exhaust flow rate, the chosen ramp times did not change the urea deposit risk. Therefore, the current control system could be improved by including longer time for evaporation between the urea injection pulses.